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Amid polling in Rajasthan, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Saturday said that the people of Rajasthan will support the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the development of the state.
Exuding confidence in winning the assembly election, the Union Minister said that the BJP will gain a majority not just in Rajasthan but also in Telangana, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. "For development, people will definitely support the BJP. There would be a majority not just in Rajasthan but also in Telangana, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh," Sonowal said. Meanwhile, Rajasthan recorded 55.63 per cent polling for 199 assembly constituencies till 3 p.m., the Election Commission informed on Saturday. As per the poll body, Tijara witnessed the highest voter turnout of 69.37 per cent until 3 p.m. Tonk recorded 56.83 per cent. The capital city, Jaipur, recorded 55.75 per cent of voter turnout, while Jaisalmer recorded 63.48 per cent, Jhalawar at 60.47 per cent, Hanumangarh at 61.64 per cent, and 52.23 per cent of electorates cast votes at Jalore till 3 pm. Earlier, Rajasthan recorded 40.27 per cent polling for 199 assembly constituencies until 1.30 pm. Voting began in Rajasthan at 7 am after days of hectic campaigning by major political parties, including the ruling Congress and BJP. However, polling for the Karanpur assembly constituency was adjourned following the death of Congress candidate Gurmeet Singh Koonar. Voters can cast their votes until 6 p.m. Adequate security arrangements have been made to ensure peaceful and fair elections, the polling officials said earlier. A total of 1,02,290 security personnel have been deployed to ensure peaceful voting, an official said. As many as 69,114 police personnel, 32,876 Rajasthan Home Guard, Forest Guard, and RAC personnel, and 700 companies of CAPF have also been deployed to ensure free and fair polling, he added. The ruling Congress is eyeing another term, while the BJP is seeking to replace the Ashok Gehlot government, banking on the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Prominent candidates in the fray include Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, former CM Vasundhara Raje, former Deputy CM Sachin Pilot, Congress national spokesperson Gourav Vallabh, Union Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore, Vishwaraj Singh Mewar, Rajasthan Assembly Speaker CP Joshi, and Rajasthan LoP Rajendra Rathore. Many rebel candidates of the BJP and Congress withdrew their names after being persuaded to do so. But still, about 45 rebel candidates from both parties are in the fray. These also include MLAs, former MLAs, and party officials. The counting of votes has been scheduled for December 3. In 2018, the Congress won 99 seats, while the BJP finished a close second at 73. Gehlot took the oath as CM with the support of BSP MLAs and independents. (ANI)
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