Voting for the 90 assembly seats in Haryana wrapped up at 6 p.m. on October 5, with attention now shifting to the counting of votes that will reveal whether the BJP can achieve a historic third consecutive term or if the Congress and AAP can challenge their momentum. By 5 p.m., the voter turnout was recorded at 61%. According to the Election Commission of India, Mewat led the turnout with 68.28%, while Gurugram had the lowest at 49.97%. Voting commenced at 7 a.m. and will be followed by vote counting on October 8.
Candidates and Key Contests
The political scene in Haryana is charged with diverse candidates, including Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and notable figures like Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Vinesh Phogat. As the state gears up for counting day on October 8, the stakes are incredibly high for all major parties involved. Key contesting parties in Haryana include the BJP, Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and the pre-poll alliance of the Indian National Lok Dal-Bahujan Samaj Party (INLD-BSP) and the Jannayak Janta Party-Azad Samaj Party (JJP-ASP).
Security Measures and Candidate Confidence
A total of 1,031 candidates are competing across all 90 assembly constituencies, with 20,632 polling booths established for the election. Approximately 2,03,54,350 voters in the state are eligible to participate in the 15th Haryana Legislative Assembly Elections. Meanwhile, security measures have been heightened in anticipation of the assembly elections. Among early voters were former Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Olympian Manu Bhaker. Khattar expressed confidence that the BJP would secure 50 out of 90 assembly seats. In contrast, Congress leader Deepender Hooda critiqued this optimism, recalling the BJP’s previous claim to win 75 seats, ultimately ending up with only 40. He remarked, “Today, they are saying they will secure over 50 seats, so one can only imagine the actual outcome.”
The last assembly elections were held in October 2019, after which the Bharatiya Janata Party allied with the Jannayak Janta Party to form the state government, appointing Manohar Lal Khattar as Chief Minister.
