Manu Bhaker at a polling station in Charkhi Dadri.
Double Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker today cast her vote at a polling station in Charkhi Dadri for the 2024 Haryana assembly elections. After casting her vote along with her father, Ram Kishan Bhaker, she said that it's the individual's responsibility to vote in the elections.
"Being the youth of this country, it is our responsibility to cast our vote for the most favourable candidate. Small steps lead to big goals... I voted for the first time..." Ms Bhaker said while speaking to the news agency ANI.
Her father, Ram Kishan Bhaker, also expressed his feelings after casting his vote.
"Manu is the brand ambassador and a youth icon for voting. She had to come. We vote in every election. How will our village develop if we do not vote... I would request everyone to come out and vote. It's better to come out today than to curse the government for the next five years..." he said.
The Haryana assembly election is a high-stakes battle as the BJP is eyeing a third straight term to power in the state, the Congress party is aiming to wrest back power riding on anti-incumbency, and issues of farmer protests and wrestler protests.
The key contesting parties in Haryana include the BJP, Congress, and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), as well as the pre-poll alliance between the Indian National Lok Dal-Bahujan Samaj Party (INLD-BSP) and the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP)-Azad Samaj Party (ASP).
Voting in Haryana started at 7 am and will conclude at 6 pm.
A total of 1,031 candidates are contesting in all 90 assembly constituencies, and 20,632 polling booths have been set up for voting. The results for the Haryana Assembly elections will be declared along with those of Jammu and Kashmir on October 8.
According to Haryana's Chief Electoral Officer, Pankaj Agarwal, 2,03,54,350 voters, including 1,07,75,957 males, 95,77,926 females, and 467 third-gender voters, will cast their votes in the Assembly Elections on October 5. A total of 1,031 candidates are contesting across 90 constituencies, and 20,632 polling booths have been set up for the election.
The Chief Electoral Officer highlighted that a total of 29,462 police personnel, 21,196 home guards, and 10,403 Special Police Officers (SPO) have been deployed across the state. Strict surveillance will be maintained at every corner of the state to allow citizens to cast their votes without fear.
Manohar Lal Khattar served as the Chief Minister of Haryana for around 9.5 years. He was succeeded by Nayab Singh Saini in March this year. BJP is contesting the polls under his leadership. Saini is contesting from the Ladwa constituency.
One of the prominent faces in the elections is wrestler Vinesh Phogat. She joined the Congress party on September 6, along with Olympian wrestler Bajrang Punia, following her disqualification from the women's 50 kg final at the Paris Olympics.
The JJP-ASP alliance will contest all 90 Assembly constituencies in Haryana, with the JJP fielding candidates in 70 seats and the ASP in 20.
In the 2019 Assembly elections, the BJP won 40 of the 90 seats, forming a coalition government with the JJP, which won 10 seats. The Congress secured 31 seats. However, JJP later broke out of the coalition.