Jaipur, Dec 3 (UNI) Counting for 199 out of 200 seats in Rajasthan Legislative Assembly, polling for which was held on November 25, began amidst tight security on Saturday, a senior poll official said here.
Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Pravin Gupta said that the counting began at 8 am in all 33 district headquarters across the state.
It may be noted that 74.62 percent of the 5.26 crore voters have exercised their rights this time. The polling figure was slightly higher than what was recorded in the 2018 assembly elections.
The CEO said 175 companies of central forces along with the local police and constabulary have been deployed for the smooth conduct of counting. A total of 1,862 candidates are in the fray for the 199 seats.
It may be noted that due to the death of Congress candidate and MLA Gurmeet Singh Kunnar, the election in the Karanpur assembly constituency in Ganganagar district has been postponed.
Arrangements have been made to display the latest trends and results through the IT application of the Election Commission. Initially, the postal ballots will be counted, and then counting through electronic voting machines (EVMs) will be taken up.
Stakes are high for both the ruling Congress and the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). While BJP has been trying to woo back the voters banking on the image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the ruling Congress, riddled with factionalism initially, is looking forward to forming the government for the second consecutive term based on its poll pledges, christened guarantees.
It may be mentioned that along with the ruling Congress, nominees of the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLPA), Aam Aadmi Party, Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram), Marxist Communist Party (CPI-M), Bharat Adivasi Party and Jannayak Janta Party are in the race. In all, candidates of about 80 parties and around 730 independent candidates are in the fray.
Prominent candidates of the ruling Congress include Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, state president Govind Singh Dotasara, Assembly Speaker CP Joshi, former Deputy CM Sachin Pilot, ministers Shanti Dhariwal, BD Kalla, Bhajan Lal Jatav, Vishvendra Singh, Bhanwar. Singh Bhati, Saleh Mohammad, Mamta Bhupesh, Pratap Singh Khachariyawas, Rajendra Singh Yadav, Shakuntala Rawat, Uday Lal Anjana, Ram Lal Jat, Mahendrajit Singh Malviya and Ashok Chandna.
Among prominent BJP candidates are former CM Vasundhara Raje, Leader of Opposition Rajendra Rathore, Deputy Leader of Opposition Dr Satish Poonia, MP Diya Kumari, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Baba Balaknath, Kirori Lal Meena and Devji Patel and former Union Minister Subhash Mahariya.
Apart from these, RLPA convenor and Nagaur MP Hanuman Beniwal is also contesting the assembly elections from Khinvsar. RLPA has entered into an electoral alliance with Chandrashekhar Azad-led Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) and they are contesting 124 seats together. While BJP is contesting on 199 seats, Congress has fielded 198 candidates and has left one seat Bharatpur for its ally Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) from where minister Subhash Garg is contesting.
