Rajasthan civic body election: Graveyard turns into polling station in Barmer, voting begins with great enthusiasm

New Delhi: Polling is currently underway in Rajasthan to elect 2,100 ward councillors in 49 civic bodies. According to the State Election Commission, a total of 7,944 candidates are in the fray and people can vote till 5 pm. 

There are 3,479 polling booths across the state and one such station that caught our attention is situated in Barmer. Ever heard that a graveyard has been turned into a polling both? No, right? However, in Barmer, one such polling booth exists in the city. 

Voters of ward number 17, under the Barmer Municipal Council (BMC), have to cast their votes in the crematorium. The decision of the state election commission might have left several of the readers shocked, but as per reports, there is a lot of enthusiasm among voters, who queued up outside the polling booth to cast their votes from 7 am. 

There is a meeting hall at the crematorium, which has been turned into the polling booth. The polling team reached here on Friday, after which security was tightened across the area. There are 973 voters in the ward - 509 males are 464 female voters.

"It may sound strange but after death, everyone has to come here," said one of the voters. This is the first time the crematorium has been converted to a polling both, another added.

The crematorium in Barmer is well-maintained and has greenery all around. It was chosen a voting centre keeping in view its capacity to managed the footfall. 

A total of 33.06 lakh voters in Rajasthan are exercising their franchise, of which 17.05 lakh are men and 16.01 women. Counting of votes will be done on November 19. 

The election for chairman and deputy chairman of local bodies will be held on November 26 and 27, respectively.