The desert State of Rajasthan will go to polls on November 25 to elect members of a new Assembly after a high-pitched campaign which witnessed acrimonious debates and accusations, as well as promises and guarantees. Defending its citadel, the ruling Congress expects to change the trend of the incumbent government being voted out during the last three decades.
Over 5.25 crore voters will seal the fate of 1,862 candidates in the electronic voting machines in 199 of the 200 constituencies, where the polling will be held. Election in Sriganganagar’s Karanpur has been postponed because of the death of Congress candidate and sitting MLA Gurmeet Singh Kooner.
The Congress has fielded 97 sitting MLAs, including seven Independents and one from the BJP, while the Opposition BJP has given tickets to six Lok Sabha members and one Rajya Sabha member as well as 59 MLAs. The BJP’s decision to field defected Congress MLA Girraj Malinga generated a controversy because of his alleged involvement in the attack on a Dalit engineer.
