Rajasthan state assembly elections, 2013: News, updates and all you need to know

About 25 million people voted across Rajasthan Sunday to pick a new 200-seat Rajasthan assembly in keenly fought elections which both the Congress and the BJP claimed they would win. The turnout was 74.38%, the highest-ever in the desert state, the Election Commission said. The fate of 2,087 candidates, including Gehlot and Raje, was sealed in the Electronic Voting Machines after the exercise which saw police firing in the air at a few places to restore calm. Read here

More than 60% of the state's 40 million electorate had voted by 4 pm, and the polling%age could touch the 2008 tally of 66 when the final figures are calculated after polling ended at 5, officials said.

An average polling of 40 per cent was recorded till 1400 hours in 199 Assembly seats of Rajasthan.

Sriganganagar recorded a polling percentage of 46.55 per cent followed by Jhunjhunu 46, Jhalawar 37.63, Karauli 33.45, and Jaipur 35 pc, a Chief Election Office PR said

Millions voted across Rajasthan Sunday in elections to pick a new 200-seat assembly in India's largest state.

Security personnel opened two rounds of fire to disperse a crowd of supporters trying to disturb polling at a booth in Saleempur area of Dausa district, Additional Director-General of Police (Law and Order) Navdeep Singh said.

The polling was not disturbed there and it was going on smoothly, the ADGP said.

In another incident, a pick van was set on fire by miscreants near ward number 15 at Fatehpur in Sikar district, the ADGP said.

By and large, the polling was underway on a peaceful note in the state, ADGP said.

Polling began at 8 a.m, and by noon 18-20% of the over 40 million electorate had exercised their franchise, officials said. Read report

* Election Commission-appointed teams seized Rs 12.89 crore cash and registered 31 cases of paid news in Rajasthan where polling for the state Assembly. Read here

"The polling is peaceful and is expected to pick up during the day," an Election Commission official said

"The voting began at 8 am at 47,223 polling booths spread across the state. The polling will continue till 5 p.m. and we have made elaborate security arrangements for peaceful polls," an official of the Rajasthan Electoral Office said.

"There does not seem to be an undercurrent for any party, so it has become difficult to predict. But one thing is sure that these polls would be a close elections with rebels, NPP and BSP creating problems for both the BJP and the Congress", said Ravi Goswami, a political analyst.

* A low turn out of 8.24% voters was witnessed in the initial hours of polling for the Rajasthan assembly, the state election commission said. Read full report

2 booth capturing bids foiled in Rajasthan Read

“Congress will win by a massive majority, there is no competition with BJP. There is no Narendra Modi factor here,” said Ashok Gehlotas he voted. Read full story

Rajasthan Assembly Polls : Vasundhara Raje casts her vote in Jhalawar pic.twitter.com/Xh5tqMBvh9 — ANI (@ANI_news) December 1, 2013

Rajasthan Assembly Polls : Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot casts his vote in Jodhpur pic.twitter.com/jLgnlP1wM8 — ANI (@ANI_news) December 1, 2013

Around 40 million people are eligible to vote Sunday to elect a new 200-seat Rajasthan legislative assembly.

Ballotting will take place in 199 constituencies. Polling has been postponed in Churu to December 13 following the death of a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate.

In the outgoing house, Congress holds 102 seats and the Bharatiya Janata Party 79.

The Congress and the BJP are contesting all the seats. The newly formed National Peoples Party (NPP) has candidates in 150 constituencies and the BSP is in the race in over 100 seats.

A total of 2,087 candidates are in the fray. There will be over 47,000 polling booths across the state. Votes will be counted Dec 8 - along with those of Delhi, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.

The leading candidates are Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, BJP's Vasundhara Raje, state Congress president Chandrabhan, Gujjar leader Prahlad Gunjal and Meena community leader Kirori Lal Meena.

BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, party president Rajnath Singh, senior leaders Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitely, TV actress Smriti Irani and Bollywood actors Hema Malini and Shatrughan Sinha were the star campaigners.

For the Congress, party president Sonia Gandhi, vice president Rahul Gandhi, general secretary and election campaign committee chairman C.P. Joshi, union Minister Sachin Pilot and Ashok Gehlot's son Vaibhav Gehlot spearheaded the poll campaign.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also addressed an election rally in Jaipur.

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