Countdown begins! Vote count on Sunday to decide fate of 1,351 candidates in Haryana

Chandigarh, Oct 18: The fate of 1,351 contesting candidates will be decided Sunday as the counting of votes for the 90-member Haryana assembly takes place.

"All arrangements have been made for counting of votes tomorrow. Counting of votes would be carried out at 90 counting centres in 57 places in the state," Haryana chief electoral officer Shrikant Walgad said here Saturday.

Majority of the results are expected to be out by Sunday afternoon.

Haryana's 1.63 crore electorate Wednesday set a new voting record with over 76.54 percent polling in the state's assembly elections, perking up the BJP's hopes to come to power on its own.

With most exit poll giving it a clear mandate, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) could come to power in Haryana for the first time. The BJP contested the Haryana assembly on its own for the first time.

The Today's Chanakya exit poll gave the BJP an absolute majority with 52 seats while the ABP-Nielsen survey put at the BJP count at 54 seats. The C-Voter survey gave BJP 37 seats, making it the single largest party.

"We will get a clear mandate in the election results. The BJP will form the next government on its own. We will not need the support from anyone," Haryana BJP president Ram Bilas Sharma said.

The opposition Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) too exuded confidence about the impending results but surveys put the party at second spot, far away from the majority figure. The Congress, as per the exit polls, was staring at a rout after two terms in power.

IANS