Haryana Elections 2019: A 106-year-old voter being assisted at a polling booth in Rohtak.
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:
Haryana Election 2019: Final voter turnout for the Assembly Elections in Haryana till 6 pm is 61.92%
Final voter turnout for the Assembly Elections in Haryana till 6 pm is 61.92%
Senior Citizens Participated in Large Scale in Haryana
Haryana Polling Booth Run By Women A commendable initiative-- the polling booth, run entirely by women. All responsibilities of the election process performed by women employees are an example that women are not behind in any field, Manohar Lal Khattar
Woman injured as two groups clash, pelt stones outside polling booth in Nuh district
A woman was injured as clash took place between two groups outside a polling booth in Malaaka village in Nuh district in Haryana's Mewat region. A senior police official said that some argument broke out between a present Sarpanch and former Sarpanch after which some of their supporters accompanying them clashed.
Former Indian Hockey captain and BJP candidate from Pehowa, Sandeep Singh cast his vote at a polling booth in Kurukshetra.
37.2 per cent voters have exercised their franchise till 2 pm. The polling per cent is slow in Maharashtra with 25 per cent of the electorates having voted so far.
Haryana Assembly Election 2019: Rahul Gandhi Says Bakshish Singh Virk Is The Most Honest Man In The BJP
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi today took a pot-shot at the BJP over one of its candidates in Haryana declaring that no matter what button is pressed on Electronic Voting Machine (EVM)s, every vote will go to the ruling party. The "most honest man in the BJP", Rahul Gandhi tweeted on MLA Bakshish Singh Virk, who has been served notice by the Election Commission for his controversial comment."
The former Congress president tweeted his jibe along with a video of Mr Virk speaking at a public meeting in Haryana's Assandh constituency, where he is contesting.
"Whoever you vote for, we will get to know. Don't think we won't know. We deliberately don't tell you, but if we want, we can find out. Because Modiji (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) is intelligent. Manoharlal (Chief Minister ML Khattar) is intelligent," the politician is heard saying in Punjabi in a video widely circulated online. The video appeared to have been taken recently during his campaign.
"Whoever you vote for, we will get to know. Don't think we won't know. We deliberately don't tell you, but if we want, we can find out. Because Modiji (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) is intelligent. Manoharlal (Chief Minister ML Khattar) is intelligent," MLA Bakshish Singh Virk is heard saying in Punjabi in a video widely circulated online. The video appeared to have been taken recently during his campaign.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi today took a pot-shot at the BJP over the video. The "most honest man in the BJP", Rahul Gandhi tweeted.
Haryana Election 2019: 20.3 per cent voting till 11 am
20.3 per cent of the voters have exercised their franchise till 11 am. Meanwhile, 13.2 per cent of the voters in Maharashtra have cast vote.
Senior Congress leader and former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda casts his vote at a polling booth in Rohtak.
Babita Phogat Cast Vote, Vows To Promote Sports If Elected
Wrestler-turned-politician and BJP candidate Babita Phogat on Monday cast her vote in her native village in Bhiwani along with her father Mahavir Phogat and sister Geeta Phogat.
Babita Phogat is among the 12 women candidates fielded by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 90-member assembly elections.
"Development of my constituency and promotion of sports in the state will be the top priorities, if I am getting elected," she told reporters after casting her vote.
Two-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist Babita Phogat, who is making her debut in apolitical dangal' from Dadri in Charki Dadri district, is advocating promotion of women's sports in the state.
Haryana Election 2019: 7.44 % polling in first two hours
During first over two hours poll percentage in the state was 7.44 per cent.
As per the Election Commission data, brisk polling was going on in many districts.
Among other districts, poll percentage in Jind was 7.91 per cent, Bhiwani 10.76%, Ambala 6.67%, Palwal 8.88%, Gurgaon 6.40%, Faridabad 6.10%, Mewat 10.24%, Rewari 6.79%, Rohtak 9.80%, Hisar 11% and in Karnal district it was 5.92%. Panchkula district had the lowest polling percentage at 2.46%.
Haryana Assembly Election 2019: How Babita Phogat, BJP Candidate In Haryana, Surprised Sister Geeta Phogat
As voting took place in Haryana's Dadri today, where wrestler Babita Phogat is fighting her debut election, her biggest champion was Geeta Phogat, who admitted that her "quiet" younger sister had surprised her."
Babita Phogat, 29, is the BJP candidate in the seat currently held by the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD). The BJP has never won in the Jat-dominated area, but the party is banking on the star power of Babita Phogat, who, along with sister Geeta, inspired the blockbuster "Dangal".
Dadri was also among the districts where Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a rally.
"Babita is younger than me and she is very quiet. The way she is meeting people and conveying her message has surprised me as she was very quiet," Geeta Phogat told news agency ANI on Monday, after voting.
She said she was confident her sister would ace politics just as she did the wrestling arena. "There is love and respect towards my sister. She will make her name in politics as well...She is getting a lot of love from everyone," said Geeta.
Babita Phogat faces tough rivals including Satpal Sangwan of the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) and Major Nirpender Sangwan of the Congress. Somvir Sangwan, who was earlier in the BJP, is also contesting as an independent candidate.
ML Khattar Takes Shatabdi Train To Karnal, Then Cycles To Polling Booth
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar took the Shatabdi Express from Chandigarh to his hometown Karnal to cast his vote this morning. The Haryana chief minister was seen arriving in a cycle to his polling booth.
"First vote, then eat. I am going to cast my vote," the chief minister tweeted, sharing pictures on his personal account.
"I humbly request all citizens of the state that you too must exercise the franchise by visiting your polling station. Your one vote is crucial to form a strong government," he added.
Manohar Khattar is seeking a second term from the Karnal seat that he won in 2014 with a margin of over 60,000 votes.
Haryana Assembly Elections 2019: Prominent candidates
Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar (Karnal), former chief minister and Congress Legislative Party leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda (Garhi Sampla-Kiloi), Randeep Singh Surjewala (Kaithal), Kiran Choudhary (Tosham) and Kuldeep Bishnoi (Adampur) and JJP's Dushyant Chautala (Uchana Kalan) are some of the prominent candidates in this election.
The BJP has fielded three sportspersons -- Babita Phogat (Dadri), Yogeshwar Dutt (Baroda in Sonipat) and Sandeep Singh (Pehowa) -- besides TikTok star Sonali Phogat (Adampur).
Haryana Elections 2019: TikTok star and BJP candidate votes in Adampur
TikTok star Sonali Phogat who is contesting on a BJP ticket from Adampur constituency, after casting her vote. She is up against senior Congress leader Kuldeep Bishnoi.
Haryana Elections 2019: 117 or approximately 10 per cent have declared criminal cases
Of the over 1,169 candidates contesting the Haryana polls, 117 or approximately 10 per cent have declared criminal cases against them, while 70 have declared serious criminal cases, data reveals. Congress leads this list with 13 such candidates, while the BJP is nearly as high with 12 such candidates.
"Enrich Festival Of Democracy": PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today asked people in Haryana and Maharashtra to go out in large numbers and vote in the elections to the state assemblies. Altogether, by-elections are also being held on 53 seats in 17 states and one Union Territory. The counting of votes will take place on Thursday.
Haryana Assembly Elections 2019: Voting At Over 3,000 Booths To Be Webcast
To ensure maximum security, live footage of voting at over 3,000 critical vulnerable polling stations in Haryana will be monitored the state's Chief Electoral Officer Anurag Agarwal has said.
Officials will monitor these polling stations from a control room set up in Chandigarh, Mr Agarwal said. He added that on the morning of October 21, the information of the mock poll will be available directly in the control room through the dashboard.
A control room has been set up at Chandigarh headquarters, in which news and complaints coming on electronic and social media are being closely monitored and prompt action is being taken.
A total of 19,578 polling stations have been set up in Haryana, out of which 2,987 have been marked as vulnerable. Over 150 polling stations have been identified as critical.
Haryana Assembly Elections 2019: BJP has set a target of 75 of 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.
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.
Voting begins for 90 seats in Haryana.
Haryana Elections 2019: Dushyant Chautala's party looking to improve its show
The Dushyant Chautala-led JJP, a breakaway faction of Ajit Singh's Indian National Lok Dal, 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.
The BJP is locked in contest with the Congress and Dushyant Chautala-led Jannayak Janta Party for the 90 assembly seats.