Voting concludes in 27 districts in third phase of Rajasthan Panchayat elections

Voting for the third phase of the Panchayati Raj elections in Rajasthan was held on Tuesday across 27 districts. Along with the process of selecting the government at the rural level, this phase also tested the local influence of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress, and other political parties. According to a report by Amar Ujala, 9,094 candidates contested elections for a total of 2,496 wards of Zila Parishads and Panchayat Samitis. More than 1 crore 6 lakh voters decided the fate of the candidates in this process. It was learned that over 68 per cent voting was recorded by 6 pm after the conclusion of polling.

A total of 11,869 polling stations were established by the administration for this third phase of the election. In this phase, voting was conducted for 377 wards of 27 Zila Parishads and 2,119 wards of 116 Panchayat Samitis. A total of 1,06,81,567 voters had the opportunity to exercise their right to vote.

From a political perspective, this election held significant importance, as political parties had their eyes on the assembly constituencies where their MLAs are present. The 27 districts where voting took place include more than 41 assembly constituencies. According to available figures, among these, BJP MLAs hold approximately 26 seats, while 15 seats are with Congress and other parties. Therefore, the results of the Panchayat elections will signal the grip of leaders and the activity of party organisations at the local level.

Looking at the number of candidates in the electoral field, the competition was seen to be very stiff. In most wards of the Zila Parishad and Panchayat Samiti, there was a direct clash between three to four candidates. On many seats, the contest became triangular and on some quadrangular, due to which the division of votes and local equations may play an important role in victory or defeat.

If detailed figures are examined, 1,305 candidates filed forms in 377 wards of the Zila Parishad, meaning there were an average of three and a half candidates per ward. On the other hand, there was a battle between 7,789 candidates in 2,119 wards of Panchayat Samitis. Combining both levels, a total of 9,094 candidates were in the fray.

In terms of the number of candidates, a very stiff contest was seen in Bharatpur district, the hometown of Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma. In Bharatpur, 91 candidates contested elections for 19 wards of the Zila Parishad. When talking about the number of Zila Parishad wards, Dausa and Hanumangarh districts had the highest, with 24 wards each.

In the Panchayat Samiti elections, 474 candidates were in the fray in 142 wards of Dausa, while 696 candidates participated in 98 wards of Bharatpur. This large number of candidates shows the seriousness of the election and the extent of competition at the local level, although the final decision will depend on the voting of the voters and area-wise equations.

In this entire process, efforts were made by the administration to maintain security and order so that more than one crore voters could vote easily. This voting held in 2,496 wards of 27 districts will determine the new direction of rural politics in Rajasthan.