Rajasthan's Anta constituency bypoll vote counting on Friday

Jaipur, Nov 13 (PTI) Counting of votes for the bypoll in Rajasthan's Anta assembly constituency will be held on Friday amid tight security arrangements, officials said on Thursday.

Voting was held in Anta on Tuesday.

"Counting will be held at the seminar hall of the government PG college in Baran district under CCTV surveillance on Friday. All preparations for the counting have been completed," an official of the election commission said.

A high voter turnout of 80.21 per cent was recorded in the polling. The constituency has a total of 2,28,264 voters, including 1,16,783 men and 1,11,477 women.

The bypoll was necessitated after BJP MLA Kanwar Lal Meena was disqualified following his conviction in a criminal case.

Fifteen candidates were in the fray, with the contest primarily seen between BJP's Morpal Suman and Congress's Pramod Jain Bhaya.

Congress rebel Naresh Meena was also in the fray.

Meena had contested the Deoli-Uniara assembly bypolls in Tonk district last year and courted controversy after he slapped an officer on duty, while accusing him of threatening voters.

The incident had led to violence and arson in Samravta village in Tonk.

This is the eighth assembly bypoll in Rajasthan under Bhajanlal Sharma-led BJP government that came to power in December 2023.

Bypolls to seven assembly seats were held in November last year. Five of the seven assembly seats went to bypolls after sitting MLAs were elected MPs in the Lok Sabha general elections in May 2024, while bypolls to two seats were held due to the demise of sitting MLAs.

The ruling BJP had won five out of those seven seats.

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