Final phase of Rajasthan panchayat polls underway, amid EVM glitches

Delays in polling were reported from several places after the voting began at 7 am on Saturday in the fourth and final phase of elections to Rajasthan's zila parishads and panchayat samitis.The delays were attributed to glitches in electronic voting machines (EVMs). Voting percentage, meanwhile, reached 15.81 per cent by 10 am, officials said.
The polling was underway across 25 districts, and will continue till 6 pm.Hanumangarh's Sangaria panchayat samiti recorded the highest turnout at 22.41 per cent, while Beawar's Badnor registered the lowest at 8.12 per cent.A total of 8,843 candidates are contesting 2,524 seats, including 382 zila parishad and 2,142 panchayat samiti wards.More than 1.05 crore voters are eligible to cast their ballots at 11,905 polling stations in the final phase.BJP leader Rajendra Rathore's son Prakram Singh and daughter-in-law are among the prominent candidates contesting from Churu district.Counting of votes for all four phases will take place on November 20, followed by elections for zila pramukhs and panchayat samiti pradhans.