Rajasthan: Voting in Sardarshahar bypolls underway in Churu

Voting in the assembly by-election at Sardarshahar in Rajasthan's Churu district is underway. The voting began at 8 AM on Monday.A total of 2,89,843 voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the bypoll in the assembly constituency.

The voting will conclude at 5 pm.The ruling Congress has fielded Anil Sharma, son of late minister Bhanwar Lal Sharma, as its candidate for December 5 bye-election.

BJP has announced former MLA Ashok Kumar Pincha as its candidate for the seat. The by-election was necessitated following the death of sitting MLA Bhanwar Lal Sharma. The seven-time MLA passed away at 77 in Jaipur in October.

Pincha is a former MLA from this seat. He had contested the 2018 elections from Sardarshahar but lost by a margin of over 16,000 votes to Sharma. The by-election is significant as it is being held a year before the state elections. Rajasthan has seen the incumbent government being voted out of power every five years since 1998.Of about 2.89 lakh voters in Sardarshahar, there is a significant presence of people from Brahmin, Jat, and Dalit communities.

The last date for filing nominations for the seat is November 17 and the result will be declared on December 8.