Polling in Rajasthan has concluded. Meanwhile, the exit poll results for all five states are out.
Who is likely to win the battle in Rajasthan? Find out here.
The caste dynamics in the state and the race for reservations
Rajasthan is a land of myriad colours, and this pluralism extends to the communities and ethnicities that make up the population of the state.
The state is made up of 89 percent Hindus, 9 percent Muslims while 2 percent belong to other religions. The Scheduled Caste (SC) population is 18 percent, Scheduled Tribe (ST) 13 percent, Jats 12 percent, Gujjars and Rajputs 9 percent each, Brahmins and Minas 7 percent each.
Among these, the Rajputs and the Jats have been at loggerheads ever since the princely states were merged into the Indian Union in 1952. At that time, the princes had fielded a large number of their nominees, and the electorate which was used to being ruled by the kings had voted for them.
Voters walk miles through desert to cast votes
In Rajasthan's border districts of Barmer and Jaisalmer, people reached polling booths walking several miles through the desert to cast their votes on Friday.
People here had to walk long distances as polling booths are located at far off places. Both the districts share the border with Pakistan and are part of the Thar desert region.
Despite hardships, people from remote villages came out to vote with a noticeable number of women seen at the polling stations. One such voter is 101-year-old Pali Devi who voted at a booth in Barmer.
People of Rajasthan have been voting since 8 this morning for 199 seats of the state assembly.
In Bundi district's Hindoli area, 102-year-old Kisni Bai reached the polling booth with the help of a stick to cast her vote.
District wise voter turnout till 3.00 pm
Ajmer: 56%
Alwar: 60%
Barmer: 59%
Bharatpur: 62
Bikaner: 59%
Chittorgarh: 67
Churu: 58%
Jhalawar: 62%
Tonk: 57%
Udaipur: 60%
Almost 60 percent voter turnout was recorded in Rajasthan till 3.00 pm.
With two hours still to go before the end of polling, 59.14 percentage of the votes had been cast, according to the Election Commission.
Religion big factor in Pokhran
Western Rajasthan's Pokhran assembly constituency is set for a close fight on December 7 between a Hindu religious leader fielded by the BJP and son of Muslim 'peer' pitted against him by the Congress.
The BJP candidate, Pratap Puri, is the head of the Taratara 'math'. The Congress' Shale Mohammad is the son of Muslim religious leader Gazi Fakir, who has a large number of followers both within India and across the border in Pakistan.
Both Puri and Fakir hold considerable sway among their communities, making the Pokhran constituency in Jaisalmer district one of the state's most hotly contested seats.
Voter turnout by 1.00 pm, according to ECI:
# Pushkar 45.44%
# Garhi 43.98%
# Bayfu 46.87%
# Jamwa Ramgarh 44%
Violence reported in Sikar district
Stone pelting was reported in a polling booth in Sikar district of Rajasthan. A motorcycle was also torched by miscreants. Police officials were able to contain theviolence, although voting was suspended for half an hour. Voting has resumed now, news channel TimesNow has reported.
Will a third front be able to oust BJP and Congress from the state?
Just weeks before Rajasthan wasscheduled to go to polls, a third front emerged in the state. Many political parties, barring the BJP and its nemesis Congress, came together to oust the national parties from the state.
The Left parties forged an alliance with the Samajwadi Party, the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) and the Janata Dal (Secular). Besides, the state witnessed an influx of new players in the state.
Jat leader Hanuman Beniwalfloated a new political party on October 29. Beniwalwasalso reportedly in talks with BJP MLA (Sanganer, Jaipur) Ghanshyam Tiwari, who quit the ruling party and floated his own Bharat Vahini Party (BVP). While Beniwal is popular among the Jats, Tiwari aims to target the 7 percent Brahmins in the state.
TheAamAadmiParty (AAP), led by Delhi chief ministerArvindKejriwal, later announced that it will be contesting for all the 200 seats.
Will a third front be able to oust BJP and Congress from the state?
Just weeks before Rajasthan wasscheduled to go to polls, a third front emerged in the state. Many political parties, barring the BJP and its nemesis Congress, came together to oust the national parties from the state.
The Left parties forged an alliance with the Samajwadi Party, the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) and the Janata Dal (Secular). Besides, the state witnessed an influx of new players in the state.
Jat leader Hanuman Beniwalfloated a new political party on October 29. Beniwalwasalso reportedly in talks with BJP MLA (Sanganer, Jaipur) Ghanshyam Tiwari, who quit the ruling party and floated his own Bharat Vahini Party (BVP). While Beniwal is popular among the Jats, Tiwari aims to target the 7 percent Brahmins in the state.
TheAamAadmiParty (AAP), led by Delhi chief ministerArvindKejriwal, later announced that it will be contesting for all the 200 seats.
41.37 percent voter turnout recorded till 1 pm in Rajasthan, Election Commission Spokesperson has tweeted.
Congress could win its first direct contest against BJP in five years
As Rajasthan votes today, the Congress is looking to win its first election in a direct contest with the BJP in five years.
All indicators and pre-poll surveys in the run-up to the election have backed the grand old party to storm back to power in India’s largest state.
The BJPstate government headed by CMVasundhara Raje is unpopular on the ground and that seems to be the biggest factor going for the Congress.
Earlier this year, the bypoll results in the traditionally bipolar state indicate this change of mood as the Congress won with massive margins in Alwar and Ajmer.
Although the BJP has tried to make amends and activate its cadre in the interim, there has been no palpable change in public mood.
An elderly man is being carried to a polling station to cast his vote for the state Assembly electionsin Jodhpur. (Image: PTI)
Major issues that will influence the election this year
Unemployment
Before the BJP won with an unprecedented victory in 2013, Vasundhara Raje had promised 1.5 million jobs, with a mantra “Lathi nahi, naukriya doongi”.in the four years of BJP rule, around 157,804 government jobs were announced in different departments, but appointments had been made to only 41,800.
Farm Distress
In May 2018, five farmers from the Hadoti region in Rajasthan had committed suicide over garlic prices hitting rock bottom due to bumper crop. As a result the farmers had to sell their crop at throwaway prices.
Fragmented Traditional Voter Base
Rajasthan comprises a spectrum of ethnicities and communities, and this diversity has, more often than not, led to conflict.
The conflict doesn’t remain restricted to inter-community fighting, but extends to dissatisfaction with the administration over reservations and quota in government jobs.
Social Sector Schemes
According to reports, an estimated 2.5 million families have been removed from the food security scheme in an attempt to weed out fake beneficiaries. In addition, over 2 million people are unable to access the subsidised rations due to the Point of Sale (PoS) machines not being able to read their fingerprints, indicating that the poor are suffering at the expense of a digital governance.
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Rajasthan polls: Over 20 percent voter turnout in first three hours of voting
Over 20 percent of over 4.74 crore voters exercised their franchise in the first three hours of polling in Rajasthan Friday amid reports of EVMs malfunctioning at some polling booths
The polling began at 8 am and the voting turn out was 20.9 percent at 11 am, poll officials said.
There were reports of some EVMs not working which delayed voting at a few polling booths.
– PTI
21.89 percent voter turnout recorded till 11.00 am in Rajasthan, ANI has reported.
Union Minister of State for Agriculture Gajendra Singh Shekhawat cast his vote at polling booth 128 in Jodhpur, news agency ANIhas reported.
Chief Ministerial Candidate
As Rajasthan votes today, a survey conducted byAssociationfor Democratic Reforms (ADR) identified key factors that people take into consideration before casting their vote. Let's take a look:
A wide majority (65 percent) said a party’s chief ministerial candidate was ‘very important’.
Candidate's party
When asked about if a candidate’s caste or religion influenced their decision to vote for them, 72 percent respondents said it was ‘not important’.
Candidate's religion/caste
When asked about if a candidate’s caste or religion influenced their decision to vote for them, 72 percent respondents said it was ‘not important’.
Former Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot tells CNN News 18 after casting his vote:
"VasundharaRajeand the BJPcentral leadership have failed to deliver on the promises of providing 15 lakh jobs, or farmer loans. By bringing the issue of Christian Michel ( alleged middleman in the AgustaWestlandcase) or Navjot Singh Sidhu (over hugging Pakistan PM Imran Khan) during campaigning, the central leadership of the issue is just diverting the electorate's attention."
EVM Malfunction was reported in Bikaner:
The EVM is being replaced at polling booth no. 172 in Bikaner's Kisamidesar following a technical issue, ANI has reported.
Former chief minister Ashok Gehlot, who is also seen as a chief ministerial candidate for the Congress, cast his vote from Jodhpur.
Gehlothas been the Rajasthan chief minister twice, and is contesting from Sardarpura, a constituency he now represents.
EVM Malfunctioning reported in Jalore constituency in Rajasthan:
Voting is yet to begin in polling booth no. 253 and 254 in Ahor following EVM malfunction.
"Every single vote counts. We have to cast our vote today by thinking who is actually taking the nation forward," Union MinisterRajyavardhanSinghRathoretoldmediapersonsin Jaipur.
Sharad Yadav
Former Rajya Sabha MP and LJDmemberhad yesterday in a statement said,'Vasundhara (Raje) ko aaram do, thak gayi hain, bahut moti ho gayi hain'.
To this, Rajeresponded after she cast her vote, saying "I feel shocked that such an experienced politician, having close relations to our family, wasn't able to control his words. This is a bad example for youngsters. We do not want them to think this is acceptable. The Election Commission should take cognizance of this."
Rajasthan Congress chief Sachin Pilot, who is contesting from Tonk constituency, caste his vote in Jaipur.
When asked about the Congress party's chief ministerial candidate, he told media persons, that the party will deliberate on that after winning a majority in Rajasthan.
Incumbent Chief Minister VasundharaRajecast her vote at a pink polling booth in Jhalrapatan constituency of Jhalawar. "I am confident of victory", she said after casting her vote.
'Pink polling booths' are exclusively for women. In the 2013 Rajasthan assembly polls, the voter turnout of women was 1 percent higher than that of men.
Voting begins for 199 Assembly seats
According to an official spokesperson, polling began at 8 am in all the 51,687 booths set up across the state.
Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje (Jhalrapatan), Congress state president Sachin Pilot (Tonk), former chief minister Ashok Gehlot (Sardarpura) are among the 2,274 candidates in the fray.
The election in Ramgarh constituency of Alwar district was put off following the death of Bahujan Samaj Party candidate Laxman Singh.
The election in Alwar district’s Ramgarh constituency has been postponed due to the death of Bahujan Samaj Party candidate Laxman Singh.
Prime Minister NarendraModi, in a tweet, has appealed to the electorate of Rajasthan to participate in the 'festival of democracy' and vote in large numbers.
At a time when entire Rajasthan was abuzz with a high-decibel election campaign, a centuries-old temple in the Aravallis was witness to footfalls from the who's who of the state's political arena.
It is believed that goddess Tripura Sundari posses mystic power to fulfil wishes of success in politics, which draws scores of political bigwigs cutting across party lines.
PM Modi confident of Rajasthan win
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had, on December 5, reiterated his confidence of a BJP victory in Rajasthan.
"Rajasthan has immense enthusiasm and support for the BJP. I appeal to the public to give their blessings to the BJP by paying a huge number of votes," he had tweeted.
Catch the latest updates from the Telangana Assembly polls here
Voting in Rajasthan will begin at 8.00 am. However, polling in Telanganahas already begun.
Read the full story here
Many political parties, barring the BJP and its nemesis Congress, are coming together to oust the national parties from the state.
The Left parties have forged an alliance with the Samajwadi Party, the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) and the Janata Dal (Secular). Besides, the state is witnessing an influx of new players in the state.
A look at the major issues that the ruling BJP government faced ahead of the polls
Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje went on a 40-day Gaurav Yatra that covered over 6,000 kilometres and 165 constituencies. This was read by political analysts as Raje’s attempt at dispelling the impression that she is inaccessible.
However, Raje’s inaccessibility and alleged arrogance are only some of the problems that the government would have been worried about ahead of the elections.
Women to operate over 250 polling booths, 3 to be managed by differently abled persons
Over 250 polling booths will be fully operated by women while three by differently abled persons in Rajasthan today.
Differently abled persons had requested for engaging them in election duty. Therefore, three polling booths, two in Udaipur and one in Nagaur, have been selected for being operated fully by them, Chief Electoral Officer Anand Kumar said.
"This will give a message that they are no less than anyone," Kumar said while briefing about election-related arrangements.
Here are the key dates gone by:
Date of issue of gazette notification: November 12
Last date of nominations: November 19
Date for scrutiny of nominations: November 20
Last date for withdrawal of candidatures: November 22
In 2013, Vasundhara Raje won a stunning mandate, winning 163 out of the 200 seats. Congress had finished a distant second with just 21 seats. National People's Party (NPP) had won four seats and Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) had won three.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has been in power in the state since 2013. Now, the saffron party and the incumbent chief minister is reportedly facing massive anti-incumbency. A resurgent Congress, led by former chief minister Ashok Gehlot and former union minister Sachin Pilot, is hoping to oust the BJP. BJP has however claimed that it is confident of winning the election.
For more than 20 years, chief ministers of Rajasthan have been seeing the revolving door. None of the chief ministers in this period of time has managed to retain power. Will Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje be able to end this?
Voting timings:
Polling will take place from 8.00 am to 5.00 pm in 199 out of the 200 constituencies.
Votingin Alwar district’s Ramgarh constituency has been postponed due to death of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate Laxman Singh.
Rajasthan is heading for polling today in a single-phase election. The Legislative Assembly has a total of 200 seats. Around 4.74 crore voters are expected to cast their votes today across 51,796 polling stations. Term of the current Assembly ends on January 20, 2019.
