Rajasthan local body elections begin as voters turn out in first phase across 16 districts
More than 85 lakh voters across 16 districts are choosing local representatives in the opening round of Rajasthan's Panchayati Raj polls.
Voting began at 7 a.m. on Thursday for the first phase of Rajasthan's Panchayati Raj elections across 16 districts, marking a major milestone in strengthening grassroots governance and local democratic participation across the state.
More than 85 lakh eligible voters are set to choose representatives across 16 zila parishads and 104 panchayat samitis. Early turnout reports showed steady public participation, with an overall polling figure of 11.74 per cent recorded across the participating districts by 10 a.m. Jaipur led the state in early voting engagement, recording 14.70 per cent polling in the initial three hours, followed closely by Ajmer, Alwar, and Kota.
| District | Polling percentage till 10 a.m. |
|---|---|
| Jaipur | 14.70% |
| Ajmer | 13.63% |
| Alwar | 13.55% |
| Kota | 13.39% |
| Overall average | 11.74% |
Competitive contests across rural wards
In this opening phase, 6,976 candidates are competing for 2,081 local seats. The contest features 1,693 candidates vying for 293 zila parishad wards and 5,283 candidates seeking election in 1,788 panchayat samiti wards. Polling is underway across Ajmer, Alwar, Barmer, Bhilwara, Bikaner, Dungarpur, Jaipur, Jhalawar, Jodhpur, Kota, Nagaur, Pali, Phalodi, Rajsamand, Sirohi, and Udaipur districts.
Bhilwara features the largest number of zila parishad wards in this round with 28, followed by Udaipur with 25, Barmer with 24, and Jaipur with 22. Jaipur has drawn the largest pool of candidates for zila parishad seats at 154, with Bikaner recording 138, and both Alwar and Jodhpur seeing 133 candidates each. Nagaur leads the panchayat samiti contests with 470 candidates, followed by Barmer with 467 and Bhilwara with 466.
Comprehensive election schedule
The ongoing electoral process spans three comprehensive phases to cover 41 zila parishads, 457 panchayat samitis, and 14,403 gram panchayats throughout Rajasthan. Voting for the second phase of zila parishad and panchayat samiti members is scheduled for October 28, with the third phase following on November 3. Direct elections for panches and sarpanches in the third phase will be conducted on November 5, followed by indirect elections for up-sarpanches on November 6.
Key numbers
| What | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Overall polling percentage by 10 a.m. | 11.74% | Official polling updates |
| Jaipur polling percentage by 10 a.m. | 14.70% | Official polling updates |
| Eligible voters in phase one | 85,07,306 | State election authorities |
| Total candidates in phase one | 6,976 | State election authorities |
| Total seats contested in phase one | 2,081 | State election authorities |
In this story
| Name | Role in the story |
|---|---|
| Jaipur | District leading early turnout and candidate count for zila parishad seats. |
| Rajasthan | State where Panchayati Raj local body elections are taking place. |
