BJP, Congress neck and neck in Rajasthan as early trends trickle in

Early trends in Rajasthan show a neck and neck fight between main contenders- the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress.

Election Commission (EC) trends reflect Congress leading on 25 seats, while BJP is ahead on 23.

Before the counting began, incumbent Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje offered prayers at at Tripura Sundari Temple in Udaipur.

Bhartiya Janata Party's (BJP) Raje is vying for a majority on the 199 out of 200 seats that went to polls on December 7.

Congress members, in a show of confidence, have brought firecrackers to their Jaipur party office. They also celebrated outside state party president Sachin Pilot's residence in Jaipur as he is leading from Tonk constituency, as per early figures.

The Election Commission of India had set up as many as 52,000 polling booths, including at least one all- women booth in each constituency of the state for the smooth and peaceful voting experience. A total of 2,274 candidates including 187 women were in the fray for 199 Assembly seats.

Raje, who also served as the chief minister from 2003 to 2008, is looking at retaining power in the state for the third consecutive time.

The tenure of Rajasthan assembly will end on January 20, 2019. The main contenders are Raje's BJP and the Indian National Congress.

However, the Aam Aadmi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party are also contesting along with several other political quarters.

Along with Rajasthan, the results of the other four states Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram will also be announced today.