Rajasthan goes to the polls in a high-stakes battle
Polling for 199 out of Rajasthan’s 200 seats began at 7 am today, and will continue till 6 pm. The election in Sriganganagar’s Karanpur seat has been suspended because of the death of Congress candidate and incumbent MLA Gurmeet Singh Koonar.
In the 2018 elections, the Congress had fallen just one short of the majority mark by winning 100 seats and the BJP had managed to win 73. The BJP’s tally had fallen from an absolute majority of 163 in 2013.
The elections are being contested by 1,862 candidates and the total number of voters is 5.25 crore. Of these, 1.71 crore voters are between the ages of 18 and 30, and 22.61 lakh are new voters from the 18-19 age group.
The Congress is hoping that the magic of Ashok Gehlot, who is known as ‘jadugar’ (magician), its seven guarantees and welfare measures like the country’s first law for gig workers will get it re-elected in the state.
Voters in Rajasthan have not given any government a second term since 1993 and the BJP is banking on this as well as Prime Minister Modi’s popularity to return to power. Former chief minister Vasundhara Raje, who is arguably the party’s most popular leader in Rajasthan, has not been declared the chief ministerial face.