Rajasthan Assembly Election: All you need to know

Rajasthan is going to polling on Saturday for a single phase election to a total of 200 assembly seats, campaigning for what even saw high voltage and bickering name-calling between the ruling BJP and the Congress.

Election Timings
The polling process will commence from 7 am in the morning and will continue till 6 pm in the evening.

Total Assembly Seats
Rajasthan comprises a total of 200 assembly seats. Still, voting will take place in 199 seats owing to the demise of the Congress candidate, Gurmeet Singh Konoor, from the Karanpur seat in Sriganganagar, where elections have been adjourned. Chief electoral officer Praveen Gupta has said that security has been beefed up across the state to avoid any untoward incidents.

Candidates Fielded
The Election Commission has stated that a total of 1,863 candidates will be competing in the Rajasthan assembly elections, with 5,25,38,105 registered voters across the 199 assembly constituencies. The Bharatiya Janata Party is competing in all constituencies, whereas the Congress has reserved one seat, Bharatpur, for its ally Rashtriya Lok Dal. Alongside the BJP and Congress, several other parties, such as CPI (M), RLP, Bharat Adiwasi Party, Bhartiya Tribal Party, Aam Aadmi Party, and AIMIM, are participating in the elections. Additionally, more than 40 rebels from both the BJP and Congress are contesting independently.

Electoral Preparations
Chief Electoral Officer Praveen Gupta announced that a total of 36,101 polling stations have been established across Rajasthan for the upcoming assembly elections. Among them, 10,501 polling stations are in urban areas, and 41,006 are in rural areas. Live webcasting will be carried out at 26,393 polling stations, with monitoring from district-level control rooms. For the voting process, 65,277 ballot units, 62,372 control units, and 67,580 VVPAT machines, including reserves, will be utilized throughout the state. To ensure a fair and peaceful election, 6,287 micro observers and 6,247 sector officers with reserves have been appointed. Additionally, each sector officer will be equipped with an extra EVM machine to address any technical issues promptly. A total of 2,74,846 polling personnel, including 7,960 women and 796 disabled polling personnel, will facilitate the voting process. Wheelchairs have been arranged at all polling booths to assist disabled and elderly voters.

Key Candidates
In the upcoming elections, prominent Congress figures, including Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, state party chief Govind Singh Dotasra, and former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot, are contesting. Meanwhile, key BJP leaders such as leader of the opposition Rajendra Rathore, former state president Satish Poonia, and former chief minister Vasundhara Raje are also in the electoral race. Gurjar leader Kirodi Singh Bainsla's son, Vijay Bainsla, is running as a BJP candidate. Notably, former chief secretary Niranjan Arya is trying his hand at politics as a Congress candidate.

Poll Promises
In recent days, an intense election campaign unfolded, with the Congress primarily highlighting the achievements and initiatives of the Ashok Gehlot government, along with the pledge of seven assurances if the party stays in power. In contrast, the BJP criticized the Congress on various fronts, including concerns related to women's safety, allegations of appeasement, corruption, and incidents of paper leaks.

Security Measures
Safety and security measures have been beefed up to enforce law and order in the state. Security measures for the elections involve deploying a total of 1,02,290 personnel, including 69,114 police officers, 32,876 Rajasthan Home Guard, Forest Guard, RAC personnel, and 700 CAPF companies. Each assembly constituency will have three flying squads and Static Surveillance Teams for effective monitoring.
To prevent unauthorized entry, sealing and checking operations will occur along the 4,850 km interstate border. Over 1,70,000 personnel will be deployed for robust security, including central paramilitary forces and armed forces from 18 other states.
DGP (Law and Order) Rajeev Sharma highlighted the active involvement of over 70,000 Rajasthan Police personnel, 18,000 Rajasthan Home Guards, 2,000 Rajasthan Border Home Guards, and 15,000 Home Guards from other states in ensuring a secure electoral process.