Mock poll delayed in Hanumangarh due to EVM malfunction

Hanumangarh (ANI): As voting began on Saturday for 199 out of 200 assembly seats in Rajasthan, the mock poll conducted before voting failed due to EVM malfunction at booth number 63 in Hanumangarh district.
Hanumangarh District Magistrate Kuldeep Sharma said the mock poll was conducted after a delay of 20 minutes.
He said, “The mock poll was scheduled to take place at 6 am. Zonal officer reached the spot and repaired the EVM. The mock poll was conducted after a delay of about 20 minutes. Now the EVMs have been repaired.”

Voting for 199 seats began at 7 am and voters can cast their votes till 6 pm.
Adequate security arrangements have been made to ensure peaceful and fair elections. With the ruling Congress eyeing another term, while the BJP is trying to replace the Ashok Gehlot government, the party is confident of the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Prominent candidates in the fray include Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, former CM Vasundhara Raje, former Deputy CM Sachin Pilot, Congress national spokesperson Gaurav Vallabh, Union Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore, Vishvaraj Singh Mewar, Rajasthan Assembly Speaker CP Joshi and Rajasthan Leader of Opposition Rajendra Rathore. .

After consultation, many rebel candidates of BJP and Congress withdrew their names. But still around 45 rebel candidates from both the parties are in the fray. These also include MLAs, former MLAs and party officials.
Counting of votes will take place on December 3. There is a tough contest between BJP and Congress and both the parties are trying to outdo each other in terms of election promises.

The role of small parties is also important. BSP has won seats in the state. Aam Aadmi Party is also in the fray. Smaller parties include Rashtriya Loktantrik Party, Bharatiya Adivasi Party, CPI-M, Jannayak Janata Party and Azad Samaj Party.
Violence against women, paper leak scam, farmer suicides are some of the major issues that were highlighted by the opposition BJP against the ruling Congress. CM Gehlot has confirmed that Congress will return to power, ending the three-decade-old trend of alternative governments in the western state. (ANI)