Today, the political future of 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 as Haryana votes for its 90 assembly seats. By 9 am, the voter turnout stood at 9.5%. The ruling BJP is aiming for a third consecutive term, while Congress is hopeful for a comeback after ten years. Other major players 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 election campaign was led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who held four rallies, focusing on attacking the Congress for stalling issues of national importance, including the Ram temple. On the other hand, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi addressed several public meetings, declaring a Congress storm that would form a government for the poor and farmers, promoting his vision of spreading Mohabbat ki dukan across the state.
This election has seen some strategic seat adjustments. Congress left the Bhiwani seat for its INDIA bloc partner CPI(M), while BJP did not field a candidate in Sirsa, where Haryana Lokhit Party’s Gopal Kanda seeks re-election.
A direct contest between BJP and Congress is expected in most seats. Key constituencies include Ladwa, where Chief Minister Saini is running, Garhi Sampla-Kiloi with Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Ellenabad with INLD’s Abhay Singh Chautala, and Uchana Kalan, where JJP’s Dushyant Chautala faces off against Congress’s Brijendra Singh. Other prominent contests include BJP’s Anil Vij (Ambala Cantt), Capt Abhimanyu (Narnaund), and OP Dhankar (Badli), Congress’s Vinesh Phogat (Juliana), and AAP’s Anurag Dhanda (Kalayat).
Bhavya Bishnoi, grandson of former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal, is the BJP candidate from Adampur in Hisar, while Arti Rao, daughter of Union Minister Rao Inderjit Singh, is contesting from Ateli in Mahendragarh. Notable independent candidates include Savitri Jindal (Hisar), Ranjit Chautala (Rania), and Chitra Sarwara (Ambala Cantt).
The last assembly elections in 2019 saw the BJP win 40 seats, Congress 31, and JJP 10. The BJP formed the government with JJP’s support, though their alliance ended when Nayab Singh Saini replaced Manohar Lal Khattar as Chief Minister in March.
To ensure the elections are conducted peacefully, Haryana Police, under Director General of Police Shatrujeet Kapur, has deployed over 30,000 personnel along with 225 paramilitary companies. The state has a total of 1.07 crore male voters, 95 lakh female voters, and 467 transgender voters. There are also 8,821 voters over the age of 100, and 1.09 lakh service voters.
In the 2019 assembly elections, the voter turnout was around 68%. Votes for this year’s election will be counted on October 8.
