Haryana Assembly Election Result 2024: The BJP looks poised for a record third term
As the BJP raced to its biggest victory in Haryana on Tuesday, one of its seniormost leaders in the state, Anil Vij, was struggling in his own constituency. That didn't stop him singing during an interaction with the media.
In high spirits over the party's anticipated hat-trick, the former Haryana home minister sang the Mohammad Rafi classic from a 1961 Dev Anand film: "Mein zindagi ka saath nibhata chala gaya".
Mr Vij was trailing by 1199 votes in the Ambala Cantt constituency at the time, behind Independent candidate Chitra Sarwara.
Referring to the celebrations by the rival Congress when it was leading earlier in Haryana, Mr Vij said, "Within the Congress, there are people who want (Bhupinder Singh) Hooda to lose, and they were the ones who were bursting crackers."
The BJP is set to win the Haryana election with its biggest tally so far. The Congress, after premature celebrations in the state, sank to second spot and seemed unlikely to regain its lead. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) failed to open its account, per Election Commission figures.
Haryana's 90 constituencies voted on October 5, with a voter turnout of 67.90 per cent.
The Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir elections marked the first direct face-off between BJP and Congress since the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year, which saw an opposition resurgence despite the BJP scoring a third term. The outcome in Haryana will be a big boost for the BJP ahead of upcoming elections in Maharashtra, Jharkhand, and Delhi.