Haryana Elections 2019 Highlights: Voting Ends In Haryana, Total Voter Turnout 65%

5 years ago

New Delhi/Chandigarh:

Voting for the assembly polls has ended in Haryana, where the BJP is seeking a second term in power and hopes for an easy victory. The BJP is locked in contest with the Congress and Dushyant Chautala-led Jannayak Janta Party for the 90 assembly seats. Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has set a target of 75 of 90 assembly seats. Last time, the BJP won 48 seats, the Congress 17.

53.7 per cent of over 1.83 crore voters exercised their franchise till 5 p.m. to elect 90 members of the Assembly amidst minor skirmishes and snags in electronic voting machines (EVMs), officials said.

Over 50.59 per cent voter turnout was recorded in Haryana till 3:30 pm on Monday. The polling started at 7 a.m. and will continue till 6 p.m.

Chief Electoral Officer Anurag Agarwal said the polling remained peaceful. "Minor technical snags were reported in EVMs at 15 places in the state and teams were rushed to rectify the faults," he told the media in his noon briefing in Chandigarh.

Manohar Lal Khattar and Dushyant Chautala were among the early voters. Mr Khattar took a Shatabdi train from Chandigarh to Karnal nd then rode a cycle to cast vote, while Dushyant Chautala drove a tractor to his polling booth in Sirsa.

While the contest in Haryana is generally a 3-fold one - BJP, Congress, and INLD - this year the recently-formed Jannayak Janta Party or JJP, which broke away from the INLD, has also emerged as a key player. JJP is headed by Dushyant Chautala. The JJP is hoping for an improvement in its prospects following its poor show in the Lok Sabha elections. The party was formed after a feud in the Chautala clan in December.

In 2019 the BJP, with its 'Mission 75' strategy, aims to win more than 75 seats in the 90-member Haryana Assembly. In 2014, BJP had won 47 seats, while the Congress was reduced to just 15 seats - coming in a distant third. Regional party Indian National Lok Dal or INLD, had got 19 seats and had come in second place. The BJP, in 2014, had a vote share of over 33 per cent, while the Congress had a vote share of only 20 per cent. For complete stats on the previous Haryana Assembly election, please click here.

The next government in the state must be elected and sworn in by November 2, when the current term ends. The result for the Haryana election will be declared three days after voting day - on Thursday, October 24, when votes are counted.

Here are the highlights for the Haryana Assembly Elections 2019:

Oct 21, 2019 19:26 (IST)