Anta bypoll: Over 64 per cent voter turnout by 3 pm

Jaipur, Nov 11 (PTI) A voter turnout of over 64.68 per cent was recorded by 3 pm during the bypoll in Rajasthan's Anta assembly constituency on Tuesday.

Voting in Anta commenced at 7 am under tight security arrangements, and by 3 pm, the turnout reached 64.68 per cent.

Voting for the Anta Assembly bypoll in Rajasthan's Baran district began on Tuesday morning amid tight security, with a voter turnout of 5.26 per cent recorded till 9 am, officials said.

The polling is taking place across 268 polling stations and will continue till 6 pm.

"The voting is underway peacefully. All necessary arrangements have been ensured at polling centres," an election official said.

A total of 2,28,264 voters - including 1,16,783 men and 1,11,477 women - are eligible to cast their votes in the bypoll. The counting of votes will be held on November 14.

While voters queued up at booths across Anta Assembly constituency on Tuesday, a small village remained eerily silent. In Sankli, only a single vote was cast - not out of apathy, but as a mark of anger and despair.

The 763-odd residents of this remote Baran district village decided to boycott the bypoll, saying they were tired of waiting for basic amenities that never came.

The bypoll was necessitated after BJP MLA Kanwar Lal Meena was disqualified following his conviction in a criminal case. Fifteen candidates are in the fray, with the contest primarily seen between BJP's Morpal Suman and Congress candidate and former minister Pramod Jain Bhaya.

The bypoll is being viewed as a significant contest for both Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma and senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot, marking the first electoral test for the BJP government since it took office last year.

In the 200-member Rajasthan Assembly, the BJP currently holds 118 seats, the Congress 66, the Bharat Adivasi Party 4, BSP 2, RLD 1, while one seat (Anta) remains vacant. PTI SDA AG MPL MPL