Polling officials with polling materials.
| Photo Credit: ANI

In the first phase of the Panchayati Raj elections in Rajasthan, Jodhpur recorded the highest polling percentage at 35.50% till 1 p.m. on Thursday (October 22, 2026), while the overall turnout stood at 19.64%, according to official figures.

Polling began at 7 a.m. for 2,081 seats across 16 zila parishads and 104 panchayat samitis in the first phase, with more than 85 lakh voters eligible to exercise their franchise.

Nagaur recorded a polling percentage of 33.31%, followed by Alwar at 31.55% and Dungarpur at 21.63% till 1 p.m.

A total of 6,976 candidates are in the fray for 293 zila parishad wards and 1,788 panchayat samiti wards in the first phase.

The elections are being held in three phases for a total of 41 zila parishads and 457 panchayat samitis, besides elections for panches and sarpanches in 14,403 gram panchayats.

Of the candidates contesting in the first phase, 1,693 are vying for 293 zila parishad seats, while 5,283 are in the fray for 1,788 panchayat samiti seats.

The elections are being held in Ajmer, Alwar, Barmer, Bhilwara, Bikaner, Dungarpur, Jaipur, Jhalawar, Jodhpur, Kota, Nagaur, Pali, Phalodi, Rajsamand, Sirohi and Udaipur districts.

Among the zila parishads, Bhilwara has the highest number of wards at 28, followed by Udaipur with 25, Barmer with 24 and Jaipur with 22.

Jaipur has the highest number of candidates for zila parishad seats at 154, followed by Bikaner with 138 and Alwar and Jodhpur with 133 each.

In the panchayat samiti elections, Nagaur has the highest number of candidates at 470, followed by Barmer with 467 and Bhilwara with 466.

Polling for zila parishad and panchayat samiti members in the second phase is scheduled for October 28, while the third phase will be held on November 3.

Elections for panches and sarpanches in the third phase are scheduled for November 5, followed by indirect elections for up-sarpanches on November 6.

Published – October 22, 2026 12:03 pm IST