Jaipur, Oct 28 (IANS) The second phase of the Rajasthan Panchayati Raj General Elections-2026 recorded a voter turnout of 64.32 per cent by 6 pm on Wednesday, with Batadu Panchayat Samiti in Barmer district registering the highest participation at 78.30 per cent.
Desuri Panchayat Samiti in Pali district recorded the lowest turnout at 49.11 per cent. Polling began at 7 am across 2,549 wards in 22 Zila Parishads and 124 Panchayat Samitis.
Voting continued beyond 6 pm at several polling stations, where queues of voters were visible, raising the possibility of a further increase in the final turnout.
The second phase covered 352 Zila Parishad wards and 2,197 Panchayat Samiti wards. The electoral contest involved 8,404 candidates, whose political fortunes were sealed in electronic voting machines (EVMs) following polling.
According to district-level figures, Barmer recorded an overall turnout of 72.08 per cent across seven Panchayat Samitis. Of the district’s 3,53,235 eligible voters, 2,54,627 exercised their franchise.
Batadu led the district with 78.30 per cent polling, while Barmer Panchayat Samiti recorded the lowest turnout in the district at 64.87 per cent. Despite the overall enthusiasm among voters, polling was disrupted briefly at some locations due to technical issues with EVMs.
Approximately 30,000 machines were deployed across 11,799 polling stations. During the process, 105 ballot units and 71 control units reportedly malfunctioned, temporarily affecting voting before operations were restored.
In Bikaner’s Ganpatsinghpura 4 MM area under Bajju, villagers staged a sit-in outside a polling station after finding its main gate locked.
Meanwhile, residents of Umkali village in the Rohat area of Pali district boycotted the elections, demanding the creation of a separate Gram Panchayat.
In other areas, polling proceeded peacefully amid tight security and administrative monitoring.
Officials and police personnel visited polling stations to oversee arrangements and maintain law and order. The second phase forms part of Rajasthan’s ongoing Panchayati Raj electoral process, with voters electing representatives to rural local governance institutions.
Elections for Panchs and Sarpanchs were scheduled for the following day, on Thursday.
–IANS
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