Rajasthan civic polls : Over 87 lakh voters to cast ballots in second phase

More than 87 lakh voters are eligible to cast their votes on Friday as Rajasthan holds the second phase of elections to 147 urban local bodies across the state.

Polling will be held from 7 am to 6 pm for six municipal corporations, 24 municipal councils and 117 municipalities. A total of 18,266 candidates are contesting across 4,774 wards.

According to State Election Commission data, 87,60,884 voters will be able to vote at 9,758 polling booths in the second phase.

The six municipal corporations going to polls are Jaipur, Ajmer, Jodhpur, Kota, Udaipur and Pali. Jaipur is the largest civic body in this phase, with 150 wards, 24.33 lakh eligible voters and 2,256 polling booths. A total of 723 candidates are contesting in Jaipur.

Jodhpur has 100 wards and 7.12 lakh voters, while Kota has 100 wards and 8.26 lakh voters. Ajmer and Udaipur each have 80 wards, with 4.38 lakh and 4.16 lakh voters respectively. Pali has 65 wards and 1.81 lakh voters.

District Election Officer (City) Sandesh Nayak said polling parties had been dispatched from Shri Bhawani Niketan College on Sikar Road after arrangements for training, distribution of election material and deployment of polling personnel were completed.

The first phase, held on September 9, covered 162 urban local bodies, including four municipal corporations, 27 municipal councils and 131 municipalities. A total of 20,623 candidates contested for 5,393 wards, with voter turnout recorded at 76.41 per cent.

Counting of votes for councillor posts in both phases will be held on September 14 from 8 am.

Elections for mayors and chairpersons are scheduled for September 21, followed by elections for deputy mayors, deputy chairpersons and municipal vice-presidents on September 22.