70 per cent turnout in Rajasthan bypoll

According to officials, till 5:30 pm on Monday, 69.91 per cent polling was recorded in the constituency with 2.89 lakh registered voters.

The Assembly seat of Sardarshahar was earlier held by Congress MLA Bhanwarlal Sharma, whose recent death necessitated the by-election.

While Congress has fielded Sharma’s son Anil as its candidate from the seat, the BJP has fielded former MLA Ashok Kumar Pincha.

Pincha had previously contested elections five times from the seat and had won once.

Eyeing the large population of Jat voters in the constituency, the Hanuman Beniwal-led Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) has also fielded its candidate Lalchand Moond.

Of the 2.89 lakh voters, Brahmins, Jats, and Scheduled Caste (SC) communities form a large chunk, with more than 50,000 voters each. The late MLA Sharma was a Brahmin and was a part of the Janata Dal, BJP and finally, the Congress.