Jaipur, Oct 28 Voting was underway in 22 districts of Rajasthan for the second phase of the Panchayati Raj elections on Wednesday morning.
It began at 7 am for 352 wards of 22 zila parishads and 2,197 wards of 124 panchayat samitis. In some places, however, it was delayed as electronic voting machines (EVMs) malfunctioned, according to officials.
By 10 am, a voter turnout of 13.68 per cent was recorded. Polling will continue till 6 pm.
According to the figures, Khairabad panchayat samiti in Kota district recorded the highest turnout of 20.60 per cent till 10 am, followed by Umren in Alwar at 19.88 per cent, Beethnok in Bikaner at 19.14 per cent and Bakani in Jhalawar at 19.08 per cent.
The lowest turnout of 6.08 per cent was reported from Pirawa (Sunel) panchayat samiti in Jhalawar district. Gogunda in Udaipur recorded 8.66 per cent and Mundwa in Nagaur 8.93 per cent.
In Jaipur district, Jalsu panchayat samiti recorded 16.45 per cent polling, Shahpura 16.29 per cent, Amarsar 15.73 per cent, Amber 14.21 per cent and Rampura Dabri 13.13 per cent.
In Jodhpur’s Tinwari panchayat samiti, voting was affected at two booths. Polling also began about 30 minutes late at two booths in Ajmer following EVM problems.
In Jhunjhunu district, an EVM developed a fault after the first vote was cast at booth number 71 in Muradpur village under Singhana panchayat samiti. Voting resumed after the machine was replaced.
In Sikar district, 95-year-old Mali Devi was brought by her family members to a polling station in Ganeshwar village of Neem Ka Thana panchayat samiti to cast her vote.
Each voter is casting two votes, one for a zila parishad member and another for a panchayat samiti member.
The remaining phases of the zila parishad and panchayat samiti elections are scheduled for November 3 and 14.
(PTI News)
