Over 8 mn voters get to pick their Rajasthan MPs (Curtain Raiser)

Over eight million voters would decide the political fate of 81 candidates in five Lok Sabha constituencies of Rajasthan that goes to the polls April 24.

In the state's second phase of polling, votes will be cast in Bharatpur, Dausa, Tonk-Sawaimadhopur, Karauli-Dholpur and Alwar.

A maximum of 22 candidates are contesting from Tonk-Sawai Madhopur and lowest, 12, are for the Bharatpur seat.

Rajasthan has a total of 25 Lok Sabha seats and in the first phase, polling was held on 20 of these constituencies April 17.

In the first phase, 63.75 percent voter turnout was reported in the 20 Lok Sabha constituencies.

"Over 9,110 polling booths have been set up in the five Lok Sabha constituencies going to the polls in the second phase April 24," an election commission official told IANS.

India's former cricket captain Mohammad Azharuddin, union ministers Namonarain Meena and Jitendra Singh of the Congress and Harish Meena, former director general of police, and Mahant Chandnath of the BJP, as well as Kirodi Lal Meena of National People's Party (NPP) are some of the main contestants in this phase of the polls.

The desert state saw feverish electioneering by the BJP, the Congress and other parties.

Senior BJP leaders like Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje campaigned.

For the Congress, former chief minister Ashok Gehlot and state Congress president Sachin Pilot spearheaded the party's campaign across these five constituencies.

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi also addressed a meeting in Karauli.

The electioneering in the state revolved around development and corruption issues. While the BJP raised the issue of corruption and poor governance at the Centre, the Congress talked about development the country saw under UPA tenure.

"We have raised the issue of misgovernance and failure of the UPA government in controlling rising prices," Younis Khan, a minister in Vasundhara Raje's cabinet, told IANS.

The Congress, the BJP, the Aam Aadmi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) are contesting all the five seats.

The BSP, AAP and NPP candidates have made it a tough going for both the BJP and Congress candidates.

Political analysts here are of the opinion that this time it seems difficult for the Congress to hold on to four seats that it won in the 2009 polls. for one seat, Dausa, an independent was declared elected in the last Lok Sabha polls.

In the 2009 elections, the Congress had won 20 of the 25 Lok Sabha seats, the BJP 4 and independent one.