Nearly 72 per cent voting in Rajasthan urban local body polls

Nearly 72 percent of voters exercised their franchise in the elections to 49 municipal bodies in Rajasthan on Saturday, with a maximum of 91.67 percent turnout in the Nasirabad municipality of Ajmer district. State Election Commission Commissioner P S Mehra said that the voting passed off peacefully.

There was a huge enthusiasm among voters at the polling stations since morning. Sriganganagar saw long queues of voters despite the rains, he said. The overall voting percentage was 71.53 percent. Udaipur Municipal Corporation recorded the lowest turnout at 53 percent, the official said.

Chief Electoral Officer and Secretary Shyam Singh Rajpurohit said proper arrangements have been made for the security of EVM machines in strong rooms across the state and security forces will remain vigilant tonight. Steps have been taken for a continuous supply of electricity there, as well as alternative supply systems.

Mehra thanked the voters as well all the 24 District Election Officers, Supervisors, police officers and the personnel involved in the election work. The elections were held to elect about 2,100 ward councilors in 49 municipal bodies across the state. A total of 7,944 candidates are in the fray.

The election department said that a total of 33.69 lakh voters, including 16.01 lakh women, were eligible to vote. Counting of votes will be on November 19. The election for chairman and deputy chairman of local bodies will be held on November 26 and 27 respectively.