Haryana Assembly Election: BJP Aims For Hat-Trick While Congress Eyes To Rise From The Ashes
The political fate of key figures like Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, Congress leaders Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Vinesh Phogat, JJP's Dushyant Chautala, and over 1,000 other candidates will be decided today as Haryana voters head to the polls for 90 assembly seats.
The ruling BJP is aiming for a third consecutive term, while the Congress is looking to reclaim power in Haryana after ten years. Other major contenders include the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), and Azad Samaj Party (ASP).
The BJP's campaign was led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who held four rallies where he criticised the Congress on various issues, accusing them of stalling critical matters, including the Ram temple issue.
On the other hand, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi addressed several public meetings, predicting a "Congress storm" in Haryana and promising a government focused on the poor and farmers, with a "mohabbat ki dukan" in every corner of the state.
In an alliance move, Congress left the Bhiwani seat to its INDIA bloc partner, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI(M), while the BJP chose not to contest the Sirsa seat, where Gopal Kanda, the Haryana Lokhit Party leader, is seeking re-election.
Most constituencies are expected to witness a direct contest between the BJP and Congress. Key candidates include Chief Minister Saini (Ladwa), Leader of Opposition Hooda (Garhi Sampla-Kiloi), INLD's Abhay Singh Chautala (Ellenabad), JJP's Dushyant Chautala (Uchana Kalan), BJP's Anil Vij (Ambala Cantt), Capt Abhimanyu (Narnaund), OP Dhankar (Badli), AAP's Anurag Dhanda (Kalayat), and Congress's Vinesh Phogat (Julana).
The BJP has fielded Bhavya Bishnoi, grandson of former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal, from Adampur in Hisar, while its candidate for Ateli in Mahendragarh is Arti Rao, daughter of Union Minister Rao Inderjit Singh. Notable independents include Savitri Jindal (Hisar), Ranjit Chautala (Rania), and Chitra Sarwara (Ambala Cantt).
Congress's Brijendra Singh, son of former Union minister Birender Singh, is challenging Dushyant Chautala in Uchana. In Tosham, cousins and former BJP MP Shruti Choudhry and Anirudh Chaudhary are contesting against each other. In Dabwali, INLD's Aditya Devi Lal, grandson of former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal, is up against JJP's Digvijay Singh Chautala, Devi Lal's great-grandson.
In the 2019 assembly elections, the BJP secured 40 seats, Congress won 31, and JJP claimed 10. The BJP formed a government with JJP's support, along with most independents. However, the JJP's alliance with the BJP ended when the BJP replaced Manohar Lal Khattar with Nayab Singh Saini as Chief Minister in March.
Director General of Police Shatrujeet Kapur assured that Haryana Police are fully prepared to ensure free, fair, and peaceful elections, with over 30,000 police officers and 225 paramilitary companies deployed.
The state has 1.07 crore male voters, 95 lakh female voters, and 467 transgender voters. Vote counting is set for October 8.
Among the electorate, 8,821 voters are over 100 years old, including 3,283 men and 5,538 women, with 1.09 lakh service voters registered. The voter turnout in the 2019 assembly elections was approximately 68%.
(With PTI inputs)
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