Rajasthan: Clash breaks out near polling booth; Voter turnout 72.7% till 5pm

Vehicles were set ablaze and vandalised in a clash which broke out between 2 groups at the polling booth at Subhash school in Sikar's Fatehpur on Friday, December 7. Voting remained affected for 30 minutes. The miscreants were later removed from spot by police and voting resumed reported news agency ANI.

Voter turnout recorded till 5 PM is 72.7% in the Rajasthan Assembly Elections on Friday, December 7.

Polling for 199 seats out of the total 200 in the assembly began at 8 am with voters lining up at 51,687 booths.

A senior police officer said polling was going on peacefully and elaborate security arrangements are in place.

Polling began on Friday in Rajasthan amid tight security to elect a new Assembly in the state. Voting began at 8 am, and will continue till 5 pm. The contest is mainly between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Congress.

In Rajasthan, the BJP is fighting anti-incumbency to retain power. Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje (Jhalrapatan), Congress state president Sachin Pilot (Tonk), former chief minister Ashok Gehlot (Sardarpura) are among the 2,274 candidates in the fray.

Raje, who is the BJP's chief ministerial candidate, is fighting against veteran BJP leader Jaswant Singh's son Manvendra Singh in Jhalrapatan, the constituency she has represented since 2003.

Manvendra Singh switched to the Congress just before the election, making the fight tougher for Raje this time. She had won 63 % of the votes cast in 2013, winning the seat by a margin of 60,896.

Tonk, with a sizeable Muslim population, is a keenly-watched contest between Sachin Pilot and BJP candidate and Rajasthan Transport Minister Yoonus Khan, who is the saffron party's only Muslim face in the elections.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had initially fielded sitting MLA Ajit Singh Mehta in Tonk. But in a change of strategy, the party dropped him and sent Khan to take on Pilot.

This is a maiden assembly election for Pilot, a two-time MP who is seen as a chief ministerial possibility if the Congress wins. He has represented Dausa and Ajmer Lok Sabha constituencies in the past.

Former chief minister Ashok Gehlot, who is also seen as a chief ministerial candidate for the Congress, is contesting from Sardarpura, a constituency he now represents.

The election in Ramgarh constituency of Alwar district was put off following the death of Bahujan Samaj Party candidate Laxman Singh.

About 4.74 crore people will decide the fate of 2,274 candidates in the fray for the 200-member Assembly.

Out of 2,274 candidates — 189 women are contesting for 199 out of the 200 assembly constituencies.

The BJP is contesting on all seats while the Congress has left five seats for its allies.

The Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has fielded 190, the Communist Party of India-Marxist 28 and the Communist Party of India 16 candidates. There are 830 Independent candidates.

Election in Alwar district's Ramgarh constituency has been postponed due to the death of BSP candidate Laxman Singh.

with agency inputs.