Rajasthan polls: 40.27% turnout till 1 p.m;  violence, faulty EVMs reported

Jaipur, Nov 25 (IANS) Incidents of sporadic violence and EVM malfunctioning marred the polling in the Rajasthan elections which recorded 40.27 per cent polling till 1 p.m. on Saturday, as per the election Commission.     

According to the Chief Electoral Officer, voting is underway in 199 Assembly seats of the state. The highest voting was registered in Karan district at 45.75 per cent, while the lowest was in Udaipur at 37.60 per cent.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and many senior leaders of Congress and BJP voted early in the morning.

"After the Congress wins, the high command Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi will take a decision on the next chief minister." Gehlot said.

Meanwhile, to the same query, former Deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot said that no one can erase what is destined. "And no one can give anything if it's not in your destiny. The party's ideology is above all, he added.

Senior BJP leader Vasundhara Raje, after casting her vote in Jhalawar, expressed confidence in her party winning the polls and asked people to vote in large numbers.

Meanwhile, voting was delayed due to EVM malfunction at many booths in Sikar and Sriganganagar districts.

A clash was also between Congress and BJP workers at a booth in Sardarshahar, Churu. The bride and groom also came to vote at the booths of many assemblies including Alwar, Jhalawar, Shrimadhopur. A 113-year-old voter Bhuli Devi cast her vote in Tonk's Niwai Assembly.

Till 11 am, the highest voting was registered in Dholpur district at 30.25 per cent. At the same time, the lowest turnout was in Udaipur district at 21.07 per cent.

Meanwhile, a violence was also reported at booth number 130-131 of the polling booth in Anjuman School of Sardarshahar assembly constituency of Churu district.

Councilor representative Asif Khokhar alleged that he was attacked by a group of five-seven people. Voting was also sdelayed due to EVM malfunction at many booths in Sikar and Sriganganagar.

There was a clash between police and voters over mobile phones at the booth of Acharya Shriram Vidyalaya of Bikaner West Assembly constituency.

In Jhalwad and Udaipur, two elderly voters died while standing in the voting line. At the polling station of Molkya Kala in Jhalawar, an elderly 70-year-old voter suddenly became ill due to dizziness and fell down and went unconscious.

He was declared dead in the hospital. At the same time, a similar death of a 69-year-old voter took place at a polling booth in Udaipur Rural.

There have been complaints of voters' names missing from the voters list coming out in Jaipur on Saturday as the polling continues in Rajasthan.

One Mamta says that her name went missing from the voters list while her voter card is with her. However, her husband's name is very much there.

Another candidate Ravi Verma also said that his name is missing from the voters list even though he contested polls for corporation elections.

He asked the administration to look into the issue.

Another voter complained that he had a family of four but the husband wife’s names are missing from the voters list.

"We have been asking voters to check their names regularly. There was a deadline till November 7th. Had they checked their names, they would have been added to the list," said Banwari Yadav, PRO, Election Commission, Rajasthan.

--IANS

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