Rajasthan assembly polls: Ashok Gehlot casts his vote, eyes second term

Jaipur: Voting for 199 constituencies that will also decide Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's electoral fate is presently underway in Rajasthan.

"Congress will win by a massive majority, there is no competition with BJP. There is no Narendra Modi factor here," Gehlot told media here.

Gehlot, who is seeking a second consecutive term, is contesting from his home turf of Sardarpura seat in Jodhpur district.

Voting, which began at 8 a.m., will end at 5 p.m. Polling is taking place for 199 seats in the 200 member assembly. Polling for Churu constituency has been postponed due to the death of BSP candidate.

Over 4 crore 7 lakh voters will decide the fate of 2,087 candidates. Ruling Congress and main opposition party BJP are contesting all the seats, while BSP is contesting 195 and CPM 38 seats.

666 candidates of other parties and 758 independent candidates are also in the fray.

Prominent candidates in the fray include Chief Minister Gehlot, Leader of opposition Vasundhara Raje, Chairperson of National Commission for Women Mamta Sharma, MP Kirodi Lal Meena and Athlete Krishna Poonia.

The election in Rajasthan is being seen as a litmus test for both the BJP and the Congress ahead of the 2014 general elections.

The counting of votes will take place on December 8.