Rajasthan Panchayati Raj elections: Voting begins for first phase in 16 zila parishads, 104 panchayat samitis

Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], October 22 (ANI): Voting for the first phase of elections to Rajasthan's Panchayati Raj institutions began at 7 am on Thursday across 16 Zila Parishads and 104 Panchayat Samitis, with 85.07 lakh voters eligible to elect their representatives.
A total of 6,926 candidates are contesting in the first phase, with voters casting ballots for two posts: Zila Parishad member and Panchayat Samiti member. A total of 9,886 polling stations have been set up for the voting.
The contest is expected to be primarily between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), while the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP), Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP) and independent candidates also have a presence in several areas.
In Jaipur district, polling is underway in 146 wards across the Chaumun, Dudu, Govindgarh, Jhotwara, Jobner, Kishangarh Renwal, Mauzamabad and Sambhar Panchayat Samitis. Voting is also taking place in 22 Zila Parishad wards in the district.
A total of 797 polling stations have been designated for the first phase in these areas of Jaipur district, where 7,43,640 voters are eligible to exercise their franchise. Of these, 3,84,195 are male voters, and 3,59,445 are female voters.
The State Election Commission has scheduled polling for Zila Parishad and Panchayat Samiti members on October 22, October 29, November 4 and November 14, while polling for Panch and Sarpanch posts will be held in four phases beginning October 25. More than four crore voters are eligible to participate, with 45,384 polling stations set up across the state.
Earlier, Rajasthan Congress in-charge Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa alleged that the BJP had used pressure through the police and administration during the earlier municipal elections, claiming that the ruling party could have faced a complete defeat otherwise.
Speaking to ANI, Randhawa alleged that bureaucrats and the administration had openly supported the BJP in the state and raised concerns over the functioning of grassroots democracy ahead of the Panchayati Raj elections.
“In the municipality elections that were held earlier, see how large our vote share was there. And had they not applied pressure on them through the police or the administration, the BJP would have faced a complete washout,” Randhawa said. (ANI)