Jaipur: First phase of polling in 20 Lok Sabha constituencies on Thursday ended with 63.25 per cent of 3.48 crore electors casting their votes in Rajasthan, the Election Commission said.
"The 20 Lok Sabha constituencies recorded 63.25 per cent polling which was 15 per cent higher than the 2009 elections," Chief Electoral Officer A K Jain said.
"It was mostly incident free poll barring a few incidents of party workers' altercation and jostling in Bikaner, Ajmer and Jhunjhunu districts outside the booths over voters' list or supermacy," DGP-Law and Order Navdeep Singh said.
Over 80,000 security personnels were on duty to ensure free and fair, and incident free polls, DGP claimed.
Ganganagar (SC) seat registered highest voter turn out of over 68 per cent, Barmer 65, Ajmer 64, Jhalawar 61.5, Banswara 61.3, Jaipur 61.2, and Rajsamand recorded lowest turn out of 51.22 per cent at the closing of polling.
The 20 Lok Sabha constituencies where polling was held include: Ganganagar, Bikaner, Churu, Jhunjhunu, Sikar, Jaipur Rural, Jaipur, Ajmer, Nagaur, Pali, Jodhpur, Barmer, Jalore, Udaipur, Banswara, Chittorgarh, Rajsamand, Bhilwara, Kota, and Jhalawar-Baran.
Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Vasundhra Raje, cast her vote at the polling station set up in Topkhana school in Jhalawar. "I am expecting very good results. We set a mission 25 to win all the parliamentary constituencies in Rajasthan and I hope that we should win all constituencies," Raje told said.
She said the UPA government has betrayed people and voters know it hence the results would in the favour of the party.
Jaswant Singh, expelled BJP leader, cast his vote in his home constituency of Barmer, while Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore exercised his franchise with his wife in Jaipur rural constituency.
Former chief minister Ashok Gehlot cast his vote with wife and daughter-in-law at Jodhpur, while BJP candidate Colonel Sonaram contesting against BJP rebel Jaswant Singh, exercised his franchise in Barmer.
Coming out of the booth, Gehlot told reporters that it was very dangerous in democratic election that rival party (BJP) was posing as a one man party (NaMo). Gehlot criticised BJP's poll campaign in which Modi projected as "is bar Modi sarkar", alleging individualism would not be accepted by voters.
Electoral fortunes of 239 candidates including 17 women were sealed in the EVMs in today's polling. Total 38,835 polling stations were set up in the first phase.
BJP and Congress have fielded 20 candidates each, AAP 19, BSP 18, CPM and CPI three each and NCP one. The contestants also include 88 Independents.
17 women contestants including Congress' sitting MPs Chandresh Kumari from Jodhpur, Girija Vyas from Chittorgarh, Jyoti Mirdha from Nagaur, new entrants Rajbala Ola from Jhunjhunu, Resham Valviya from Banswara, BJP's Santosh Ahlawat from Jhunjhunu were in the fray.
The Congress and BJP were in a direct fight on 12 seats which include Jaipur, Ajmer, Banswara, Bhilwara, Bikaner, Jhalawar, Chittorgarh, Jodhpur, Pali, Rajsamand, Udaipur and Kota.
A triangular contest was witnessed in Barmer, Churu, Jhunjhunu, Ganganangar, Jalore, Nagaur, Sikar, with Congress and BJP candidates facing challenge from rebels candidates, BSP, Rajasthan Loktantrik Party (a joint front of five national parties), AAP or Independents.
Barmer witnessed the toughest contest where rebel BJP leader Jaswant Singh contested as an Independent against BJP's Colonel Sonaram and Congress' sitting MP Harish Choudhary. Sonaram was earlier with Congress.
Congress's candidate CP Joshi and BJP's Rajyvardhan Singh Rathore are also hopeful of a victory from Jaipur-rural seat. Joshi is a sitting MP from Bhilwara.
PCC president and Union Minister Sachin Pilot, who is contesting from Ajmer, had faced tough contest from BJP Minister Sanwarlal Jat.
The BJP had won all the seats under this parliamentary constituency in the Assembly polls in December last year.
In Jhalawar, Dushyant Singh, son of Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and a sitting MP, expecting a hat trick against Congress' Pramod Jain Bhaya.
The second phase polling on remaining five seats would be held on Dausa, Alwar, Bharatpur, Tonk Sawaimadhopur, and Karauli-Dhaulpur seats on April 24.
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