Rajasthan Panchayat Elections 2026: 8.5 Million Voters To Vote In Phase 1

Around 8.5 million voters will elect 3,314 Sarpanchs and 28,682 Ward Panchs in the first phase of Rajasthan’s Panchayat elections on Saturday.

Polling will run from 7 AM to 6 PM across 16 districts, with authorities setting up 9,886 polling stations.

Unlike previous elections, which used Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), officials will conduct this phase using ballot papers. Each voter will cast two votes: one for Sarpanch and another for Ward Panch.

Officials will count Ward Panch votes first, followed by Sarpanch votes. They expect to declare results on Saturday, although ballot-paper counting, recounts and disputes could delay announcements until late at night.

Candidates are contesting without party symbols or official party tickets. Village-level rivalries and local political equations continue to shape the contests.

Barmer has the highest number of candidates in this phase, with 419 contestants for Sarpanch posts and 3,029 for Ward Panch positions.

In Jodhpur district’s Balesar Panchayat Samiti, candidates and their supporters arrived on Friday to file nominations.

The election for Deputy Sarpanch will take place on October 25. Elected Ward Panchs will choose the Deputy Sarpanch, while general voters will not participate in this election.

Bikaner District Election Officer Nishant Jain issued notices to 28 employees for missing their assigned election duties. He directed them to submit explanations within three days.

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