Haryana has given its verdict, tweeted Congress's Kumari Selja
As assembly elections trends this afternoon showed the BJP struggling to reach the halfway mark in Haryana, state Congress chief Kumari Selja said the people of Haryana have given their verdict and would not "tolerate the BJP's misgovernance anymore".
Ms Selja, who took over as the Congress chief in Haryana just last month, tweeted that Haryana was ready to "embrace a new dawn of justice."
Trends at 12:45 pm show the BJP ahead in 40 of the 90 seats in Haryana, six short of the majority figure. The Congress is leading in 31 seats and Dushyant Chautala's Jannayak Janata Party or JJP in 10 - the JJP is emerging as the kingmaker in the state.
The Congress is said to be in talks with Mr Chautala to explore the possibility of forming government.
Mr Chautala, commenting on the trends, said "This shows there was a huge anti-incumbency against the Khattar government". On whether his JJP would support the BJP or the Congress, Mr Chautala said, "It's too early to say anything. We will first summon a meeting of our MLAs, decide who would be our leader in the House and then take it further."
"People of Haryana want change," he said, taking a dig at the BJP's "Mission 75" for the state. In the last state elections, the BJP had won 47 seats in Haryana.
Sources say the BJP is trying to reach out to Mr Chautala using its ally Akali Dal, whose chief Parkash Singh Badal had once tried to cobble an alliance of the BJP, Akali Dal and JJP. Mr Badal has been tasked with negotiating with Mr Chautala, sources say.
For the BJP, the trends in Haryana would be particularly upsetting, given that Prime Minister Narendra Modi upped his campaign in the state in the last few weeks before polling on Monday. The PM addressed seven rallies in Haryana and concentrated on areas dominated by Jats, who are a sizeable chunk of votes in the state.