Rajasthan assembly elections: Mallikarjun Kharge urges people to vote

Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], November 25 (ANI): As polling for Rajasthan assembly elections started on Saturday, Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge, in a post on 'X', appealed to the people of the state to cast their votes.
"The people of Rajasthan know that their valuable vote is the guarantee of their happiness. The people of Rajasthan, the land of great heroes and symbol of social unity, are requested to vote," read the post by Mallikarjun Kharge.
"Make sure that there are no obstacles in your improving life. There is an appeal to young friends and first-time voters to cast their vote," it added.
The Congress National president, in the post, further appealed to the people of Rajasthan to choose social security, economic empowerment and guarantee of prosperity and development.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended his best wishes to first-time voters in Rajasthan.
Taking to his official handle on social media platform X, PM Modi also urged voters to turn out in big numbers and register a record turnout.
Voting began in 199 out of 200 assembly seats in Rajasthan on Saturday after days of hectic campaigning by major political parties, including the ruling Congress and BJP. Elections in the Karanpur constituency were adjourned following the death of Congress candidate Gurmeet Singh Koonar.
Polling began at 7 am and voters can cast their ballots until 6 pm.
Adequate security arrangements have been made to ensure peaceful and fair elections.
The ruling Congress is eyeing another term while the BJP is seeking to replace the Ashok Gehlot government, with the party banking on the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The counting of votes will be taken up on December 3.
A total of 5,26,90,146 voters will decide the fate of the candidates at a total of 51,890 polling stations in the assembly constituencies. The high-voltage election campaigning wrapped up in Rajasthan on Thursday.
1,70,99,334 young voters in the 18-30 age group will vote, including 22,61,008 new voters in the 18-19 age group.
A total of 1,02,290 security personnel have been deployed to ensure peaceful voting. A total force of 69,114 police personnel, 32,876 Rajasthan Home Guard, Forest Guard and RAC personnel have been deployed and 700 companies of CAPF have been deployed, he added.
In 2018, the Congress won 99 seats, while the BJP won 73. Gehlot assumed the CM position with the support of BSP MLAs and independents. (ANI)