Rajasthan Rural Polls See Clashes And Turnout Near 68 Percent

Villagers across 27 districts of Rajasthan cast votes for the third phase of Panchayati Raj elections on Tuesday to elect zila parishad and panchayat samiti members.

Voter Turnout And Clashes

A voter turnout of 68.39 per cent was recorded till 6 pm across 11,869 polling stations in 116 village bodies. Voting began at 7 am and around 1.07 crore voters were eligible to participate. Naharpura panchayat samiti in Banswara district reported the highest turnout at 82.71 per cent, while Dausa panchayat samiti recorded the lowest at 49.90 per cent. Clashes broke out between supporters of Congress and BJP candidates in Makrana panchayat samiti of Deedwana-Kuchaman district over allegations of bogus voting, with both sides attacking each other with sticks. Two voters died during the day: 65-year-old Hargovind Gurjar fell ill in Dausa and was declared dead at a hospital, while 70-year-old Puni Devi died shortly after casting her vote in Beawar due to a suspected heart attack.

Boycotts And Context

Villagers in several areas boycotted the polls over delimitation and civic issues. Protests against delimitation led to boycotts in Nagla Singhara in Bharatpur, Nagla Kishore Singh in Deeg, and Darapura in Deedwana-Kuchaman, with residents alleging the reorganisation was done under political pressure. Residents of Kachiyathana village in Baran district's Shahbad subdivision also boycotted voting to demand basic amenities. The first and second phases of the elections took place on October 22 and October 28, while the fourth phase is scheduled for November 14 under a revised schedule managed by the State Election Commission.

Context

Panchayati Raj elections in Rajasthan are conducted in multiple phases to manage security and logistics across rural administrative bodies. Local body polls frequently witness intense political contestation at the grassroots level between major parties like the Congress and BJP.