Jaipur, Nov 3 (IANS) Kishan Swaroop Sharma, the father of Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, cast his vote in the ongoing panchayat elections in the state on Tuesday in his ancestral village of Atari.
He reached the polling station at the government school in Atari Gram Panchayat and exercised his franchise at Booth number 112, located in room number 4.
After casting his vote, Kishan Swaroop Sharma spoke to journalists and appealed to the people to participate in the electoral process in large numbers.
He stressed that every voter’s participation is crucial to strengthening democracy.
He later spent some time at the village chaupal, interacting with residents and discussing issues concerning the village’s development. He subsequently left for Bharatpur.
Meanwhile, residents of Nagla Singhada village in Bayana Panchayat Samiti of Bharatpur district boycotted the Panchayat elections in protest against the village’s removal from its original Gram Panchayat during the delimitation process.
The villagers said Nagla Singhada was earlier part of Singhada Gram Panchayat but has now been merged with Bangaspura Gram Panchayat, located around four km away.
They demanded that the village either be restored to Singhada Gram Panchayat or be granted independent Gram Panchayat status.
After learning about the boycott, Tehsildar Nitesh Kumar Goyal reached the village and attempted to persuade the residents to participate in the polling.
However, the villagers remained firm on their demands.
The polling for the third phase of the Rajasthan Panchayat elections began at 7 a.m. on Tuesday and will continue until 6 p.m.
The phase covers 377 wards across 27 Zila Parishads and 2,119 wards across 116 Panchayat Samitis.
The electoral fate of 9,094 candidates will be decided in this phase.
Around 1.06 crore eligible voters are entitled to exercise their vote, including more than 51.33 lakh women.
With the conclusion of the third phase of panchayat polls, only the fourth and final phase will remain.
It is scheduled to be held on November 14 after the Diwali break.
–IANS
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