The key contesting parties in Haryana include BJP, Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, as well as the pre-poll alliance between Indian National Lok Dal-Bahujan Samaj Party (INLD-BSP) and Jannayak Janta Party (JJP)-Azad Samaj Party (ASP)…reports Asian Lite News
The high-stakes campaigning for the single phase of polling in the Haryana Assembly elections concluded on Thursday evening, with voting set to take place for 90 constituencies.
As the campaigning for the Haryana polls ends, the BJP hopes to retain power for a third consecutive term while the Congress eyes a comeback after a decade-long hiatus.
The key contesting parties in Haryana include BJP, Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), as well as the pre-poll alliance between Indian National Lok Dal-Bahujan Samaj Party (INLD-BSP) and Jannayak Janta Party (JJP)-Azad Samaj Party (ASP).
Voting in Haryana is scheduled for October 5. A total of 1,031 candidates are contesting in all 90 assembly constituencies, and 20,632 polling booths have been set up for voting.
Haryana Chief Electoral Officer Pankaj Agarwal said on Thursday that over 2.03 crore voters in the state will be able to exercise their franchise in the 15th Haryana Legislative Assembly General Elections.
The Chief Electoral Officer further informed that a total of 1,031 candidates are contesting in the elections, including 930 males and 101 females. Among these candidates, 464 are independent candidates.
The counting of votes will take place on October 8. In the 2019 Assembly elections, the BJP won 40 of the 90 seats, forming a coalition government with the JJP, which won 10 seats.
As 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 wrestlers protest.
Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Haryana Assembly, Bhupinder Hooda, is contesting from Garhi Sampla-Kiloi. 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 50kg final at the Paris Olympics.
Vinesh was one of the leading wrestlers during the protest launched against the former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and BJP leader Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh last year over his alleged sexual harassment of several women wrestlers.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday exuded confidence in the Bharatiya Janata Party winning the Haryana assembly polls and said that the patriotic people of the state will never accept the “divisive and negative politics” of the Congress.
“The campaign for the Haryana assembly elections will end shortly. I have travelled all over the state in the last few days. The enthusiasm I have seen among the people gives me full confidence that the people of Haryana will once again give their blessings to the BJP. The patriotic people of Haryana will never accept the divisive and negative politics of the Congress,” the Prime Minister said.
Prime Minister Modi addressed his first rally in poll-bound Haryana on September 14 at Kurukshetra. Thereafter, PM Modi addressed rallies in Haryana’s Sonipat on September 25 and in Hisar on September 28. On October 1, the Prime Minister held his public rally in Palwal.
Also, on the last day of campaigning in the Haryana Assembly polls, former Chief Minister and Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda targeted the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and said that they have done nothing in the past 10 years except talk about the achievements of previous governments.
The Congress leader further asserted that there is a strong wave in favour of Congress, and it will form the government with a heavy majority.
“Today is the last day of campaigning for the Haryana elections. Over the past 10 years, the BJP has treated people from all sections of society disrespectfully. The time has come to remove them from power. Under this government, 78 people were killed by police bullets, most of whom were from the Dalit community. Out of 40 people who died in Panchkula, 30 were Dalits,” Bhupinder Hooda said.
“They have done nothing in the past 10 years except talk about the achievements of previous governments. They only spread false propaganda and have no real accomplishments. We worked to make farmers prosperous. Earlier, farmers were being exploited. In our term, fertilisers were cheaper, and diesel was cheaper. We brought the Land Acquisition Bill,” he said.
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. (ANI)
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