Jaipur, May 6 (IANS): Union Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore on Monday cast his vote here in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections and appealed all Jaipur (Rural) voters to exercise their franchise.

He was accompanied by his wife Gayatri.

"This is the day to decide the future of the country. I appeal to all Jaipur (Rural) voters to exercise their rights. Your awareness will decide the path of country's development," Rathore tweeted.

An Olympian silver medalist and a two-time Commonwealth gold medallist in shooting, Rathore, is the sitting MP from the Jaipur (Rural) seat.

He is in the fray against Congress' Krishna Poonia, who is herself a 2010 Commonwealth gold medalist discus thrower. She is also a first-time sitting MLA from Sadulpur in Churu district.

Jaipur (Rural) is a comparatively new parliamentary constituency, brought into existence by the delimitation exercise in 2008. Currently, it has eight legislative assembly segments under it -- Kotpuli, Viratnagar, Shahpura, Phulera, Jhotwera, Amber, Jamwa Ramgarh and Bansur.

Rathore, a retired colonel, won the 2014 Lok Sabha elections defeating Congress' Lal Chand Kataria, who was the sitting MP.

This time, the sitting MP is also a Minister with independent charge of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) and Sports. Rathore is poised for a close fight.

Jaipur is considered to be a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) bastion. Polling for 12 Lok Sabha constituencies in Rajasthan began at 7 a.m. along with 39 more parliamentary seats spread over six other states, largely in the Hindi heartland.