News Rajasthan Rajasthan Election: Polling agent dies of suspected cardiac arrest in Pali district

Rajasthan Election: Polling agent dies of suspected cardiac arrest in Pali district

Voting began at more than 51,000 polling booths at 7 am and in the first two hours, nearly 10 per cent of the electorate cast their votes.

Rajasthan elections, Ashok Gehlot Image Source : FREEPIK.COMREPRESENTATIVE IMAGE

Rajasthan Assembly Elections: A polling agent of a candidate in the Pali district of Rajasthan, reportedly died due to a suspected cardiac arrest on Saturday, according to an official. Notably, polling for the Rajasthan assembly elections began at 7 am on Saturday.

The official said that Shanti Lal, the polling agent at booth number 47 in the Sumerpur assembly constituency, collapsed at the center. He was immediately taken to a nearby hospital and later transferred to the district hospital, where doctors declared him dead on arrival. The suspected cause of death was cardiac arrest. "Suspected cause is heart attack," the official said.

Polling underway in Rajasthan

Polling is being held in 199 out of the 200 assembly constituencies in the state to elect members of a new assembly. The BJP is aiming to unseat the ruling Congress led by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. The result will be announced on December 3.  Rajasthan has a total of 200 Assembly seats but polling will be held in 199 seats as the Congress candidate from Ganganagar’s Karanpur seat Gurmeet Singh Konoor passed away.

The Election Commission has made elaborate arrangements to ensure a smooth polling. More than 1.70 lakh security personnel have been deployed across the state.

The election in the desert state is a direct contest between the ruling Congress and the opposition BJP. The Congress is aiming to buck the trend of the ruling party being voted out every five years, while BJP is eyeing a return in the state ahead of the Lok Sabha polls next year.

(With PTI inputs)