Jaipur: Polling began on Saturday for the first phase of panch and sarpanch elections in Rajasthan, with voters casting their ballots in 3,314 gram panchayats across 16 districts. A total of 16,795 candidates are contesting sarpanch posts, while elections are also being held for 28,682 ward panch seats. Voting will continue until 6 pm, after which counting will begin, with results expected by late evening.
The elections are being held in Ajmer, Alwar, Barmer, Bhilwara, Bikaner, Dungarpur, Jaipur, Jhalawar, Jodhpur, Kota, Nagaur, Pali, Phalodi, Rajsamand, Sirohi, and Udaipur. These are the same 16 districts where elections for zila parishad and panchayat samiti members were held on October 22.
Barmer has the highest number of gram panchayats going to polls, at 419, followed by Bhilwara with 326, Phalodi with 305, and Udaipur with 284. Bhilwara also leads in the number of sarpanch candidates at 2,097, followed by Dungarpur with 1,594, Jaipur with 1,525, and Udaipur with 1,480.
According to election data, 2,905 gram panchayats have between one and nine candidates contesting for sarpanch posts, while 311 have between 10 and 19 candidates. Two gram panchayats have between 20 and 29 candidates. Barmer additionally leads in the number of ward panch seats going to polls, with 3,025, followed by Bhilwara with 2,872 and Udaipur with 2,466.
Unlike elections to zila parishads and panchayat samitis, panch and sarpanch polls are not contested on political party symbols. Candidates are allotted symbols by the State Election Commission, although political parties often support candidates at the village level.
The panchayati raj elections in Rajasthan are being conducted in four phases for 41 zila parishads, 457 panchayat samitis, and 14,403 gram panchayats. Under the revised schedule, elections for zila parishad and panchayat samiti members are being held on October 22, October 28, November 3, and November 14. Polling for panch and sarpanch posts is scheduled for October 24, October 30, November 5, and November 16.
Counting of votes for zila parishad and panchayat samiti elections will take place on November 20. Meanwhile, indirect elections for up-sarpanch posts in gram panchayats covered in the first phase are scheduled for October 25.