Mumbai, Oct. 22 -- Voting for the first phase of Rajasthan's Panchayati Raj elections began at 7 am on Thursday, 22 October 2026, with polling scheduled to continue until 6 pm. More than 85 lakh eligible voters are expected to elect representatives to 16 Zila Parishads and 104 Panchayat Samitis across the state.

A total of 6,926 candidates are contesting 2,081 seats in this phase, comprising 293 Zila Parishad wards and 1,788 Panchayat Samiti wards. Of these, 1,693 candidates are contesting Zila Parishad seats, while 5,233 are in the fray for Panchayat Samiti membership. Authorities have established 9,886 polling stations, and voting for both tiers is being conducted using electronic voting machines (EVMs).

The first phase covers Ajmer, ...