Update on the polling in Rajasthan.


Rajasthan records a turnout of 6.11% till 9 am. Polling has begun to decide the fate of over 2,000 candidates across 199 Assembly constituencies in Rajasthan. It is scheduled to end at 5pm today.


Elections will take place at 51,667 polling stations where 4,74,79,402 people will cast their vote. Out of the 200 constituencies in the state, polling is being held in 199. Voting in Alwar constituency was countermanded following the death of a Bahujan Samaj Party candidate.


The fight is to win a target of at least 101 seats to achieve majority mark in the intense polling between the BJP and Congress.


In the 2013 assembly elections, the BJP won the mandate with 163 seats, while Congress was reduced to 21 seats. This year, Vasundhara Raje, the state's incumbent chief minister, is facing a tough fight from the Congress, which has not left any stone unturned to muster support while attacking the state government over its various initiatives.


On the one hand, the Congress has kept its card close to the heart as far as a chief ministerial candidate is concerned. However, it is being speculated that Rajasthan Congress president Sachin Pilot and former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot are reportedly considered the main contenders.


On the other hand, BJP is pinning its hopes on Raje, who has been hailed time and again for her work in the state by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah.


Besides Raje who is contesting from Jhalrapatan, other top contenders include state Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria from Udaipur, Rajendra Rathore from Churu, state party president Ashok Parnami from Adarsh Nagar and Anita Bhadel from Ajmer South. -- PTI


Image: A 90-year-old man arrives at polling booth no. 104 in Sardarpura constituency of Jodhpur district to cast his vote. Pic: ANI