Rajasthan polls: Voter turnout may be affected as 50,000 weddings likely to take place on Nov 23

Dev Uthani Ekadashi is considered as the most preferred occasion for weddings. It also marks the beginning of the wedding season.

On Monday, the Election Commission announced that voting for all 200 assembly seats in Rajasthan will take place on November 23 and the counting of votes will be held on December 3.

According to a report by PTI citing trade stakeholders, this could affect the voter turnout in Rajasthan.

“Dev Uthani Ekadashi is the most auspicious occasion for weddings and all Hindu castes prefer to hold weddings on this day. More than 50,000 weddings are expected to take place this year on Dev Uthani Ekadashi,” Ravi Jindal, president of the All India Tent Decorators’ Welfare Association, told PTI.

The voting could be affected due to the involvement of a large number of people in the wedding ceremonies, from traders to family members and relatives, added Jindal.

The Election Commission (EC) has set a target of 75% voter turnout at all the 51,756 polling booths.

In 2018 Rajasthan assembly polls, the voter turnout was 74.71%.

“In such a situation, a few lakh people will be directly or indirectly busy on the day of polling. Many may not be able to cast their votes due to being engaged in work or not being present at their polling booths on the day of voting,” Jindal was quoted as saying by PTI.

According to PTI report, Event manager Manish Kumar said: “On Dev Uthani Ekadashi, people go to other cities and districts as part of wedding parties. Similarly, caterers, electricians, florists, band parties and all others engaged in wedding-related work remain busy throughout the day and many of them may skip voting due to this.” 

(With inputs from PTI)

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Updated: 09 Oct 2023, 09:20 PM IST