Elderly voter dies in queue, Rajasthan records 26.84 pc turnout till 11 am

Jaipur: A voter turnout of 26.84 per cent was recorded till 11 a.m. for the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Rajasthan where voting is being held on Friday.

Banswara registered the highest polling percentage till 11 a.m. at 30.04 per cent, followed by Barmer (29.58 per cent), Jhalawar Karan (28.88 per cent), Jalore (28.50 per cent), Kota (28.30 per cent), Udaipur (27.46 per cent), Chittaurgarh (26.48 per cent), Jodhpur (25.75 per cent), Rajsamand (25.58 per cent), Bhilwara (25.15 per cent), Pali (24.62 per cent), Ajmer (24.43 per cent), and Tonk-Sawai Madhopur (24 per cent).

At Booth No. 179 in Kota Bundi, a 108-year-old woman named Bhuri Bai exercised her franchise.

Due to rain and strong winds, the tents of the party agents were blown away at some polling stations.

In another incident at Pur town in Bhilwara, an elderly man named Chhaganlal (80) died before casting his vote. Chhaganlal had come to vote with his grandson at the community centre where he collapsed after feeling dizzy while standing in the queue. Doctors were called to the spot, who declared him dead.

Polling was also boycotted at some places in the state. The voters did not turn up to exercise their franchise at Aadibhit village under the Banswara Assembly segment due to an old dispute over the nuclear power plant in Banswara.

Voters at Booth No. 116 under the Dhurasani gram panchayat in Pali district boycotted polling citing a water crisis and poor condition of roads in their village. Tehsildar Dilip Singh has reached the spot to hold talks with the angry villagers.

IANS