Voting underway at a polling booth in the elections to 129 civic bodies in Rajasthan.
Polling has begun in municipal elections which see posts in over 129 civic bodies in Rajasthan being put to the vote. This is the first election in Rajasthan being held under new regulations that require candidates to submit affidavits that none of their family members defecate in the open.
The civic polls will see 37.58 lakh eligible voters, about 18 lakh of them women, pick their local representatives from a field of over 10,000 candidates. The results of the elections are set to be announced on August 20. The largest of the local bodies going to the polls today is the Ajmer Municipal Corporation.
The election is notable for the recent ordinance passed by the Rajasthan government, which mandates that every candidate in the election should have a toilet in his or her house. The candidates have been asked to submit affidavits declaring this, along with an undertaking that none of their family members defecates in the open.
The previous round of civic polls in the state had also drawn attention for making a Class 10 certificate a mandatory minimum requirement for all candidates.
The state's ruling BJP, led by Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, is keen to continue its winning streak of the 2013 Assembly election, 2014 Lok Sabha polls and the previous round of civic polls in January. The party has deployed its legislators in their respective constituencies to shore up its prospects.
The opposition Congress, led by former Union Minister Sachin Pilot, would also be looking to rebuild itself after the drubbing it received in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. The party had increased its vote share in the previous round of civic polls, and hopes to regain some lost ground by wresting some local bodies from the BJP.