Rajasthan Elections: Polling officially concludes, voter turnout recorded at 68.24 per cent till 5 pm

Assembly elections for 199 seats have officially concluded in Rajasthan in what has been a high-stake battle between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress. The grand old party aims to retain power in the state, while the BJP is hoping to dethrone the former banking on collective leadership. As many as 1,862 candidates are contesting with the number of voters being 5,25,38,105.

Several bigwig leaders cast their votes today, including Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Sachin Pilot and BJP's Vasundhara Raje. The voter turnout recorded till 5 pm stands at 68.24 per cent, according to the Election Commission of India.

Talking to reporters after casting his vote, Gehlot showed confidence in the Congress party's retaining of power in Rajasthan. When asked about the BJP's claim that a wave in support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is currently happening, the Chief Minister said that this is assembly polls and not "Modi ji's elections".

"There is no determination in their statements. They will disappear after the polls, but we will stay here... They (BJP) will become invisible after November 2. They will resurface again after five years," Gehlot told news agency ANI.

Later in Jodhpur, he told PTI that the Congress party's campaigns focused on various developmental issues while BJP leaders, including PM Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Ministers of other BJP-led states used provocative languages.

Meanwhile, Congress's Tonk candidate Sachin Pilot, who has a history of tussle with Gehlot, commended the "robust voting" in the state. "For the past 10 years, there has been a BJP government at the Centre. People are seeing unemployment and inflation. People want change. Congress will benefit from it," he told ANI.

Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, and her loyalists are a key in the BJP's battle to regain power in Rajasthan. Tensions, however, have been rife between the BJP and Raje and her camp after her name was kept off from the party's manifesto committee and the election management committee. Her loyalists have been demanding she be declared as the BJP's chief ministerial candidate.

Meanwhile, BJP leader Alka Gurjar said that they are fighting the assembly polls for "good governance", accusing the Congress-led government and its state administration of being "deep in corruption". "For the restoration of law and order, strengthening state economy, and respect for women, I appeal to the public to vote for BJP," she said.

Though Rajasthan has a total of 200 assemblies, polling have been held in 199 seats as the election in Karanpur constituency was adjourned owing to the death of the Congress candidate.

The Congress is banking on "seven guarantees" in their manifesto to win in the polls, including a caste survey and Rs 10,000 annual honorariums to the woman heads of families. The manifesto also includes LPG cylinders at Rs 500, an increase in the Chiranjeevi health insurance scheme to Rs 50 lakh, the reinstatement of the old pension scheme for government employees, free laptops/tablets for students, and Rs 15 lakh per family as natural calamity compensation.

Meanwhile, the BJP's manifesto includes a myriad of welfare measures for farmers, women, and students, including an increase in the Minimum Support Price for wheat, compensation for land acquisition, the formation of anti-Romeo squads, savings bonds of Rs 2 lakh for families with daughters, a free scooty scheme for meritorious students, an increase in the subsidy for LPG gas to Rs 950, and promises for the tourism sector.

Earlier in the day, a fight erupted outside a polling booth in Churu. A polling agent alleged that he was attacked by four to five people, which resulted in him sustaining injuries. Meanwhile, a polling agent died in Pali district while on duty.