Rajasthan polls: Think and vote, says Rajyavardhan Rathore

Casting his vote in Jaipur for the Rajasthan Assembly elections, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, on Friday urged people to exercise their franchise prudently.

"Every single vote is imperative to strengthen the democracy of the country. I urge all the people to think before they use their franchise for any particular quarter. They must cast vote to that party which has worked for Rajasthan's upliftment," Rathore told ANI after casting his vote at the Vaishali Nagar polling station here.

Rathore was accompanied by his parents and wife Gayathri Rathore.

Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Arjun Ram Meghwal, who represents Bikaner parliamentary constituency in the Lok Sabha, ascertained that his party will emerge victoriously and will form the government in Rajasthan.

He also accused the Congress party of practising politics on the lines of casteism.

"First CP Joshi raised questions about Uma Bharti's caste, then he asked about Prime Narendra Modi's caste. Who started this caste-based dialogue? Not only Joshi but even his party president Rahul Gandhi too in Pushkar also spoke about his Gotra in order to woo the voters," Meghawal told ANI.

In Rajasthan, polling began at 8 in the morning and will conclude at 5 pm. More than four crore electorates are registered in the official records, including 20 lakh first-time voters.

The poll body has set up as many as 52,000 polling booths, including at least one all-women booth in each constituency, for the smooth and peaceful voting.

More than 2,270 candidates, including 187 women are in the fray for 199 out of total 200 assembly seats in the state. The Election Commission postponed polling in Alwar's Ramgarh seat following the death of a BSP candidate on November 29.

The counting of votes will be held on December 11.