Jaipur: The second phase of the Rajasthan Panchayati Raj General Elections-2026 recorded a voter turnout of 64.32 per cent by 6 pm on Wednesday, with Batadu Panchayat Samiti in Barmer district registering the highest participation at 78.30 per cent, IANS reported.

Source: IANS via Hi India

Desuri Panchayat Samiti in Pali district recorded the lowest turnout at 49.11 per cent. Polling began at 7 am across 2,549 wards in 22 Zila Parishads and 124 Panchayat Samitis, covering 352 Zila Parishad wards and 2,197 Panchayat Samiti wards, with 8,404 candidates in the contest.

Voting continued beyond 6 pm at several polling stations where queues of voters were visible, raising the possibility that the final turnout figure will rise, Town Post reported. Barmer district recorded an overall turnout of 72.08 per cent across seven Panchayat Samitis, with 2,54,627 of its 3,53,235 eligible voters casting ballots; Barmer Panchayat Samiti itself recorded the district's lowest share at 64.87 per cent.

Source: Town Post (IANS inputs)

Polling was briefly disrupted at some locations by technical issues with electronic voting machines. About 30,000 machines were deployed across 11,799 polling stations, and 105 ballot units and 71 control units reportedly malfunctioned before operations were restored, according to the reports.

In Bikaner's Ganpatsinghpura area, villagers staged a sit-in outside a polling station after finding its main gate locked, while residents of Umkali village in Pali district's Rohat area boycotted the election demanding a separate Gram Panchayat. Elsewhere, polling proceeded peacefully under tight security, with officials and police visiting stations through the day.

The candidates' fate is now sealed in the EVMs. Elections for Panchs and Sarpanchs were scheduled for the following day, on Thursday, as the state's Panchayati Raj electoral process continues.