The Bharatiya Janata Party is set for a third term in Haryana where counting of votes for Assembly elections 2024 took place on Tuesday, giving the BJP a comfortable lead over its top competitor - the Indian National Congress (INC).
Some reports initially showed the Congress past the majority mark of 46 in the 90-member assembly, as predicted in exit polls, but the tables turned as the BJP later crossed the magic number in trends and retained the position.
The Bharatiya Janata Party is set for a third term in Haryana where counting of votes for Assembly elections 2024 took place on Tuesday, giving the BJP a comfortable lead over its top competitor - the Indian National Congress (INC).
Some reports initially showed the Congress past the majority mark of 46 in the 90-member assembly, as predicted in exit polls, but the tables turned as the BJP later crossed the magic number in trends and retained the position. Track Haryana Election Results LIVE Updates
A total of 1,031 candidates, including 464 Independents and 101 women, were in the fray on Haryana's 90 constituencies which voted in a single phase on October 5.
Several exit polls had predicted a Congress victory in Haryana which recorded a voter turnout of 67.90 per cent. However, the BJP claimed it will return to power for a third consecutive term.
The key parties and alliances in the fray are the BJP, the Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party, INLD-BSP and JJP-Azad Samaj Party. However, most seats will see a direct fight between the BJP and the Congress.
The exit poll by 'Dainik Bhaskar' predicted 44-54 seats for the Congress and 15-29 seats for the BJP in the 90-member Haryana Assembly. The C-Voter-India Today polls gave Congress 50-58 seats and the BJP 20-28 seats in Haryana, while the Republic Bharat-Matrize polls put the Congress tally even higher at 55-62 seats as against the BJP's 18-24.
The Red Mike-Datansh exit poll gave the Congress 50-55 seats in Haryana and the BJP at 20-25, while Dhruv Research pegged the Congress at 50-64 and the BJP at 22-32.
Peoples' Pulse exit poll gave the Congress 49-60 seats and the BJP 20-32 seats in Haryana. Most exit polls pegged the INLD's tally higher than that of the JJP, while others were seen getting up to 10 seats.
The BJP has governed Haryana since 2014, led by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. Following a successful 2019 election, they formed a coalition with the JJP, appointing Dushyant Singh Chautala as deputy chief minister.
However, in March this year, both Khattar and Chautala stepped down ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, paving the way for Nayab Singh Saini, an influential OBC leader, to take over as chief minister.