Campaigning for crucial Raj polls ends; voting tomorrow

A high-decibel campaign for the upcoming assembly elections in Rajasthan closed on Thursday with the BJP criticising the state's law and order situation and the Congress focussing on its welfare outreach. All 200 seats in the desert state will go to the polls on November 25 and the votes will be counted on December 3. The BJP is hoping to dislodge the Congress in a state that usually votes out the incumbent.

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Chief electoral officer Praveen Gupta said 52.5 million voters 27.3 million men and 25.2 million women are eligible to vote. A total of 51,033 voters are above 80 while another 11,894 are disabled.

During the campaign, the ruling Congress focused on the welfare schemes of the Ashok Gehlot government, its seven guarantees - including an annual honorarium of ₹10,000 per annum for women heads of families and subsidised gas cylinders for just ₹500 for over 10 million households and accused the BJP of trying to "mislead" the people.

The BJP campaign - led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleged that crime and corruption were rising in Rajasthan, and blamed the state government for question paper leaks in 15 examinations during the last five years. BJP leaders also raised the issue of Udaipur tailor Kanhiaya Lal's murder in 2022, terming it as an example of the appeasement politics of the Congress.