A total of 60.71% of the 7.43 lakh voters cast their votes in the byelections to the Sujangarh (Churu), Sahara (Bhilwara) and Rajsamand Assembly constituencies in Rajasthan on Saturday.
The highest polling was recorded at 67.18% in Rajsamand, followed by 59.76% in Sujangarh and 56.56% in Sahara
The bypolls will decide the fate of 27 candidates. The votes were cast at 1,145 booths amid strict security measures, while all norms under the COVID-19 related guidelines were complied with.
The polling started at 7 a.m. and continued till 5 p.m. Afterwards, the voters who were COVID-19 positive and those staying in quarantine because of the infection exercised their franchise till 6 p.m. with strict adherence to the protocol. Chief Electoral Officer Praveen Gupta said a waiting room was established at each polling centre and each of these voters was provided with the personal protective equipment (PPE) kit.
The counting of votes will be held on May 2. The ruling Congress and the Opposition BJP are locked in direct contest in the three seats. The by-elections were necessitated after the death of MLAs Bhanwarl Lal Meghwal (Sujangarh), Kailash Trivedi (Sahara) and Kiran Maheshwari (Rajsamand).
The Congress has fielded Mr. Meghwal’s son Manoj Meghwal in Sujangarh, Trivedi’s wife Gayatri Devi in Sahara and mining industrialist Tansukh Bohra in Rajsamand. The BJP’s candidates are veteran leader Khemaram Meghwal in Sujangarh, former MLA Ratanlal Jat in Sahara and Maheshwari’s daughter Deepti Maheshwari in Rajsamand.
BJP State president Satish Poonia accused the Congress government of misusing the State machinery to harass the Opposition party workers. He said the BJP workers were booked and arrested on false charges at several places in the middle of the night, about which a complaint had been made to the Election Commission.
