October 8 is a big day for Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir where the results of the assembly polls will be announced on Tuesday. The election results, which will start unfolding with the initial trends from 8 am, will decide the fate of Haryana and the UT for the next five years.
In Haryana, the BJP has been eyeing a third consecutive term for Nayab Singh Saini, while the Congress is all set to challenge the BJP and wrest control of the northern state. While the post-poll surveys have shown a majority for the Congress, political parties and leaders wait for the D-Day.
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All preparations, including security arrangements, have been completed for the counting process which begins at 8 am on Tuesday. A three-tier security arrangement has been made at counting venues, Haryana’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Pankaj Agarwal said.
High-Stake Contest In Haryana
The assembly elections in Haryana are the first major direct contest between the BJP and the Congress after the Lok Sabha polls.
While the elections is a direct contest between the BJP and the Congress, other parties, including the Aam Aadmi Party, INLD-BSP and JJP-Azad Samaj Party are also in the fray. 93 counting centres have been set up across 90 assembly constituencies in 22 districts of Haryana. The postal ballots will be counted first, followed by the counting of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) after 30 minutes.
A total of 1,031 candidates, including 464 Independents and 101 women, are contesting the elections in 90 constituencies in the state, which went to vote in a single phase on October 5.
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Though the exit poll showed the Congress in the advantage, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini has claimed his party BJP will form the government for a third time with full majority.
Congress leader and former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, a frontrunner for the chief minister’s post, exuded confidence of a comfortable majority. The INLD-BSP alliance has also claimed that it will form the next government once results are declared, while JJP leader Dushyant Chautala said he his hopeful that his alliance will get good numbers. AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal, whose party contested Haryana polls on its own, has been claiming that no government in Haryana can be formed without his party’s support.
What Exit Polls Predicted For Haryana?
Going by the exit polls released on Saturday evening, it’s a clear win for the Congress. Congress, which was once a dominant party in Haryana, fell flat on its face in 2014, losing 25 seats. In 2019, it managed to save grace with 31 seats, but couldn’t come to power. The BJP, which got 40 seats, and Dushyant Chautala’s Jannayak Janta Party, with 10 MLAs formed the government in 2019. But the alliance failed right before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The exit polls now seem to point that the Congress’s efforts paid off as the BJP is staring at a huge loss, missing out on a hat-trick in Haryana.
| Name | BJP | Congress | INLD | JJP | Others |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dhruv Research | 27 | 57+ | – | 0 | 6 |
| CVoter | 20-28 | 50-58 | – | 0-2 | 10-14 |
| Matrize | 18-24 | 55-62 | 3-6 | 0-3 | 2-8 |
| People’s Pulse | 26 (+/-7) | 55 (+/-7) | 2-3 | – | 4-6 |
| Dainik Bhaskar | 15-29 | 44-54 | 1-5 | 0-1 | 6-9 |
| News24-Chanakya | 18-24 | 55-62 | – | – | 2-5 |
| Times Now | 22-32 | 50-64 | – | – | 2-8 |
| JIST-TIF Research | 29-37 | 43-53 | 0-2 | 0 | 4-6 |
Key Candidates In Haryana
Prominent candidates in Haryana include Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini (Ladwa), Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda (Garhi Sampla-Kiloi), INLD’s Abhay Chautala (Ellenabad), JJP’s Dushyant Chautala (Uchana Kalan), BJP’s Anil Vij (Ambala Cantt), Capt Abhimanyu (Narnaund), O P Dhankar (Badli), AAP’s Anurag Dhanda (Kalayat) and Congress’ Vinesh Phogat (Julana).
A few rebels from both Congress and BJP have also entered the fray. In 2019, the BJP formed the government with the support of JJP while most Independents also extended support. However, JJP’s post-poll tie-up with the BJP ended after the saffron party replaced Manohar Lal Khattar with Nayab Singh Saini as chief minister in March this year.
J&K To Get A CM After 5 Years
Jammu and Kashmir witnessed historic polling for the first time after Article 370. The UT is also going to polls for the first time since the 2014 elections.
The elections in J&K for a ‘Naya Kashmir’ have witnessed multi-corner contests between the BJP, Congress-NC alliance and the PDP with the presence of other smaller yet significant parties.
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The 90-member assembly went to polls in three phases: September 18, September 25, and October 1.
The National Conference and the Congress fought the election in alliance, while the People’s Democratic Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) contested the elections independently.
The prominent candidates in the Jammu and Kashmir elections include: PDP’s Iltija Mufti from Bijbehara-Srigufwara, Waheed Para from Pulwama; CPIM’s Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami from Kulgam; National Conference’s Omar Abdullah from both Budgam and Ganderbal and Khalid Najib Suharwady from Doda; and Congress’ Tariq Hamid Karra from Central-Shalteng and Vikar Rasool Wani from Banihal. BJP’s Ravinder Raina is running for the Nowshera assembly seat.
| Source | Congress-NC | BJP | PDP | Others |
| CVoter | 40-48 | 27-32 | 6-12 | 6-11 |
| Peoples Pulse | 46-50 | 23-27 | 7-11 | 4-6 |
| Dainik Bhaskar | 35-40 | 20-25 | 4-7 | 12-16 |
| Matrize (Republic Bharat) | 31-36 | 28-30 | 5-7 | 8-16 |
| Chanakya (News-24) | 46-50 | 23-27 | 7-11 | 4-6 |
The Exit Polls on Saturday gave a mixed result for Jammu and Kashmir, which has gone to polling for the first time in a decade. The post-poll predictions showed the Congress-NC alliance getting a lead in the Union Territory, with the BJP trailing behind the alliance with a wide margin. As per the exit polls, the Congress and NC alliance is likely to get 35 to 50 seats, while the PDP is expected to get 4 to 12 seats.
