Rajasthan Assembly bypolls: Voting concludes peacefully with 79.32 pc voter turnout

Jaipur, Nov 11 (IANS) Voting for the Anta Assembly by-election concluded peacefully on Tuesday with a 79.32 per cent voter turnout recorded by 5 p.m., officials said.

Voters showed strong enthusiasm, with queues forming early in the morning and steady participation throughout the day.

Polling began at 7 a.m. and continued until 6 p.m. on Tuesday.

According to officials, the polling process remained peaceful across all 268 booths, where 2,27,563 voters were eligible to vote.

Security personnel sealed the booth gates after the voting time ended.

The voter turnout rose steadily during the day -- 5.26 per cent by 9:21 a.m., 14.09 per cent by 10 a.m., 29.86 per cent by 11 a.m., 48.19 per cent by 1 p.m., 64.68 per cent by 3 p.m., and finally 79.32 per cent by 5 p.m.

Despite minor disruptions, including technical glitches in EVM and VVPAT machines at Balunda and booth number 209, polling resumed swiftly after repairs.

At the start of polling, voters in Sakli and Ganeshpura villages had announced boycotts over local grievances such as road and pond development.

However, after persuasion from the administration, Ganeshpura villagers agreed to vote and arrived at the Badgaon polling station.

To ensure security, Rajasthan Police, Rajasthan Armed Constabulory, and paramilitary forces were deployed, especially at seven hypersensitive polling stations in Mangrol municipality.

The Election Commission also introduced special initiatives, including vote warriors -- a group of students and teachers encouraging voter turnout at low-participation booths.

Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma urged voters to exercise their franchise, saying, "Vote first, then have refreshments", emphasising the importance of participation for good governance. Voters queued up enthusiastically despite rising temperatures, and the turnout remained high across both Mangrol tehsil (31 per cent) and Mangrol Municipality (33 per cent) by midday. Overall, polling was marked by discipline, enthusiasm, and strong administrative coordination."

The counting of votes will be conducted under tight security later this week, and all eyes are now on the results, which will determine the new MLA for the Anta Assembly constituency.

As many as 15 candidates are in fray in this bypoll, however it is a triangular contest between BJP's Morpal Suman, Congress' Pramod Jain Bhaya and Independent candidate Naresh Meena, who is a Congress rebel.

--IANS

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