Jaipur, April 19 : Around 10.67 per cent of voter turnout was registered in Rajasthan in the first two hours from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. on Friday, said election officials here in Jaipur.
Ganganagar recorded 14.4 per cent voting, which is the highest among the 12 constituencies in the first two hours.
The constituency borders Punjab. BJP has fielded Priyanka Balan this time after dropping five-time MP Nihal Chand Meghwal against Congress candidate Kuldeep Indora, who belongs to the Dhanka Scheduled Caste community. Indora has been raising the issue of farmers in all his speeches.
In the Assembly elections, of the eight segments that come under the Ganganagar Lok Sabha seat, five were won by Congress. BJP got just two seats in Ganganagar while one went to an Independent.
Alwar, yet another seat witnessing one of the toughest contests, recorded the second-highest voter turnout which is 12.03 per cent.
Union Minister Bhupender Yadav has been fielded here by the BJP against Congress MLA Lalit Yadav, who is a young face elected for the first time in recent Assembly elections. Here Lalit Yadav and his supporters have branded the contest as outsider vs local.
Churu witnessed 11.50 per cent of voting, the third highest in the state for morning hours.
Churu has a tough contest after its sitting MP Rahul Kaswan was fielded from Congress. He left the BJP after being denied a ticket. Devendra Jhajharia, a Paralympian was fielded by the BJP.
The next highest voting was recorded in the Jaipur constituency which is 11.10 per cent.
Here, BJP has fielded Manju Sharma against former state minister Pratap Singh Khachriyawas.
Bikaner recorded 10 per cent voting while Sikar recorded 9.69 per cent.
Jaipur Rural had 10.94 per cent, Bharatpur had 9.85 per cent, Karauli Dholpur 9.71 per cent, Dausa 9.70 per cent and Nagaur 10.34 per cent.
The minimum voting was registered in Jhunjhunu — 8.83 per cent in the first hours of polling.
Meanwhile, veterans from Rajasthan cast their votes in the early morning hours.
Governor Kalraj Mishra cast his vote at the Mahatma Gandhi Girls School located on Sardar Patel Marg. He was accompanied by his wife. After voting, Governor Kalraj Mishra said, “Elections are a great and sacred festival of democracy. I appeal to all the voters to vote and elect the candidate of their choice.”
Earlier in the morning, CM Bhajanlal Sharma exercised his franchise in the morning and then left for Govind Dev temple to offer his prayers. He said that the party will repeat the success story of 2019 and 2014 when BJP made a clear sweep.
Deputy CM Diya Kumari also cast her vote in Jaipur. She said that BJP candidate Manju Sharma will win with a wide margin. Women have been coming in large numbers to cast their votes, she said.
Rajasthan Chief Secretary Sudhanshu Pant was one of the first 50 voters to cast votes and asked countrymen to vote and participate in the process of nation-building.
Chief Electoral Officer Praveen Gupta reached polling station number 53 located at Mahatma Gandhi English Medium School, Gandhi Nagar and cast his vote. Gupta appealed to all the voters of the state to definitely vote.
Large queues can be seen at all voting polls in Rajasthan. It needs to be mentioned here that PM has appealed to voters to follow, “Pehle Matdaan phir jalpaan.”
Election officials said that the voters are following their ‘Voting First appeal’. A newlywed bride Komal Tak went to cast her vote soon after her marriage ceremony and before going to her in-law’s place.
Another bride Divya Sain, a resident of Amer Road, was married on April 18. She also went to the polling station located in Municipal Corporation Colony and voted in Jaipur before going to her new home.
