Voting for the 13th assembly election in Rajasthan on Thursday commenced at 0800 hrs in all the 42,212 polling booths amid unprecedented security cover.
Over 3.62 crore voters, including 1.72 crore women, are likely to exercise their franchise to elect 200 members to the House from among 2194 contestants.
"The voting started at 8 am itself," an official spokesman said here.
The ruling BJP and main opposition Congress are locked in a see-saw fight with the latter fielding candidates in all the 200 constituencies and the saffron party in 199 seats.
The one-day polling will decide among other others the political fate of Chief Minister and BJP stalwart Vasundhra Raje (Jhalara Patan), Congress leader and ex-CM Ashok Gehlot (Sardarpura), state PCC chief C P Joshi (Nathdwara) and assembly Speaker Sumitra Singh.
Adequate police and central para-military force personnel have been deployed to maintain law and order during the voting, Rajasthan Home Secretary S N Thanvi said.
For the first time, "Quick Response Mobile Teams" have been constituted in the state to keep vigil in-and-around polling centres, he said.
The state's borders with Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat have been sealed to prevent criminals and anti-socials from entering the state.
SEE OTHER STORIES FROM RAJASTHAN
It is water that creates poll ripples in desert state
More from rediff