Rajasthan: 24.41% voter turnout in Karanpur election till 11 am

Jaipur: A voter turnout of 24.41 per cent was recorded in Rajasthan's Karanpur assembly constituency in the first four hours of polling, which began at 7 am, on Friday, officials said.

The voting will continue till 6 pm.

Till 11 am, 24.41 per cent voters had exercised their franchise in Karanpur constituency. This shows that voters are coming to cast their votes despite severe cold and fog, said Chief Electoral Officer Praveen Gupta.

Voting for 199 out of the 200 assembly seats in the state was held on November 25. The election in Karanpur was postponed due to the death of Congress candidate Gurmeet Singh Koonar.

The Congress has fielded Koonar's son, Rupinder Singh, from the seat. He is pitted against the BJP's Surendra Pal Singh.

The BJP has already inducted Surendra Pal Singh into the cabinet led by Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma as a minister of state (independent charge), a move criticised by the Congress.

Former chief minister Ashok Gehlot had called it a "clear violation of the code of conduct and an attempt to influence the voters there".

According to officials, there are 2,40,826 voters -- 1,25,850 men, 1,14,966 women and 10 transgender persons -- in Karanpur assembly constituency.

Of the 199 assembly seats that went to polls in November, the BJP won 115 and the Congress 69.