Women line up in a queue outside a polling booth to cast their vote during the state assembly election in Birchiwayas village in Ajmer district in Rajasthan yesterday.
IANS/Jaipur
About 25mn people voted across Rajasthan yesterday to pick a new 200-seat assembly in keenly fought elections which both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party claimed they would win.
More than 60% of the state’s 40mn electorate had voted by 4pm, and the polling percentage could touch the 2008 tally of 66 when the final figures are calculated after polling ends, officials said.
Balloting took place in 199 constituencies yesterday, with 2,087 candidates in the race. Polling has been postponed in Churu to December 13 following the death of a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate.
Voting was largely peaceful barring stray incidents of clashes between rival political activists. Police fired in the air at some places and used batons to break up the mobs.
“I am confident the Congress will return to power with a thumping majority,” boasted Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who was among those who voted early.
Gehlot dismissed claims that BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi’s aggressive campaign would make a difference.
“I don’t see any Modi wave or factor here in Rajasthan,” he said.
Former chief minister and BJP state president Vasundhara Raje was equally confident of her party’s victory.
“People want to get rid of the Congress and are hungry for development. I am confident the BJP will come to power,” she said.
The Congress and the BJP are contesting in all the seats.