Jaipur, Nov 11 (IANS) Voting for the Anta Assembly bypoll in Rajasthan’s Baran district was underway with 29.86 per cent polling reported by 11 a.m. on Tuesday.

A total of 2,27,563 voters are eligible to cast their votes across 268 polling stations. Of these, 1,15,982 are male and 1,10,241 are female voters. By 11.00 a.m., voter turnout stood at 29.86 per cent as polling was continuing peacefully at all voting centres, said officials.

The turnout stood at 31 per cent in Mangrol tehsil and 33 per cent in Mangrol Municipality.

Voter queues were visible at several booths, and turnout is expected to rise steadily, said a local political leader.

Rajasthan CM Bhajanlal Sharma, in the morning, appealed, “Vote First, Then Have Refreshments”.

He urged voters in the Anta by-election to cast their votes before anything else. In a social media post, he appealed to residents to vote in large numbers for good governance and the overall development of Anta.

Local administration, sensing sensitivity in seven polling stations, has deployed security forces, while declaring them hypersensitive. Security has been tightened at hypersensitive polling booths in the Mangrol Municipality area. Teams from the Rajasthan Police, RAC, and paramilitary forces have been deployed in a 1:10 ratio to ensure peaceful polling.

Meanwhile, residents of Ganeshpura village initially boycotted the by-election over unmet local demands. However, later they agreed to participate in voting after persuasion from the administration. Villagers have since reached the Badgaon polling station to cast their votes.

Voting at polling station No. 84 (Balunda village) was briefly halted after 184 votes due to a technical glitch in the EVM machine. A replacement machine was immediately ordered.

Similarly, polling at station no. 209 was paused for 30 minutes because of a VVPAT malfunction, which was later resolved, allowing voting to resume.

Polling began at 7 a.m. and recorded a 14.09 per cent turnout by 10 a.m. Voting has remained peaceful across all booths. Balloting will continue until 6 p.m.

Villagers in Sakli (polling station no. 219) had also announced a boycott over unresolved local issues, including the road to the crematorium, farm paths, pond beautification, and a playground. Senior district officials were in dialogue with the villagers to resolve the matter.

A total of 15 candidates are contesting in the Anta Assembly by-election. The key contenders include Morpal Suman from the BJP and Pramod Jain Bhaya from the Congress. The presence of Independent candidate Naresh Meena has made the contest a triangular one.

Voters, meanwhile, have been prohibited from carrying mobile phones inside polling booths. To facilitate this, the district administration has arranged a mobile phone deposit facility at every polling station. Two volunteers have been deployed at each centre with jute bags to collect mobile phones. Under this innovative initiative by the Election Commission of India (ECI), voters’ phones are being safely deposited at the entrance before voting, said officials.

BJP candidate Morpal Suman cast his vote at polling booth number 237 in Tisaya village.

After voting, he said, “The public is waiting with bated breath. This will be a historic election. My approach will remain the same, and the people will ensure my victory.”

The Election Commission has introduced several themed and inclusive booths to encourage voter participation and awareness, which include eight Pink Booths for women voters, one Unique Booth, designed with festive decor at the Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Anta, themed like a wedding ceremony and one booth established in Molkhi village to ensure accessibility for differently-abled voters. Also, there are five Green Booths, promoting environmental protection and free of single-use plastic, where eco-friendly messages are displayed to spread awareness.

–IANS

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