Chandigarh (Haryana) [India], October 4 (ANI): With 2.03 crore voters ready to cast their votes, the stage is set for the Haryana legislative Assembly elections in 90 constituencies on Saturday.
This election is a high-stakes battle as the 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 wrestler protests.
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 to be held on October 5 from 7 am to 6 pm. A total of 1,031 candidates are contesting in all 90 assembly constituencies, and 20,632 polling booths have been set up for voting. The results for the Haryana Assembly elections will be declared along with those of Jammu and Kashmir on October 8.
According to Haryana's Chief Electoral Officer, Pankaj Agarwal, 2,03,54,350 voters, including 1,07,75,957 males, 95,77,926 females, and 467 third-gender voters, will cast their votes in the Assembly Elections on October 5. A total of 1,031 candidates are contesting across 90 constituencies, and 20,632 polling booths have been set up for the election.
The Chief Electoral Officer highlighted that a total of 29,462 police personnel, 21,196 home guards, and 10,403 Special Police Officers (SPO) have been deployed across the state. Strict surveillance will be maintained at every corner of the state to allow citizens to cast their votes without fear.
Haryana CM and BJP candidate from Ladwa, Nayab Singh Saini, appealed to the people to exercise their franchise.
"We should all exercise our franchise in this festival of democracy. We should vote 100%, I would like to appeal this to the people. We should vote in the national interest, in the interest of the state - that the state should go ahead and 'Lotus' should 'bloom'," he said.
Meanwhile, amid the battle between political parties, Congress MP Kumari Selja, ahead of the Assembly polls, threw the gauntlet down as far as the Congress' choice for a probable Haryana CM goes. Selja said that the choice of the CM, should the Congress win, will be taken by the Party High Command, but she can't be ignored.
In an interview with ANI, the senior Congress leader said that she was a senior leader with enough weight to be considered a frontrunner for the top post.
“See, that only high command will have to answer, they will only decide. There are a few people who would be in the consideration zone, and I think Selja would be there. Seniority mein, kaam mein, in sab cheezon mein nam aur politics aur ye political decisions ye toh high command dekhega (the high command would look at the seniority, work done, and everything else. These political decisions would be taken by high command,” Selja told ANI.
Confirming her confidence in the work Congress has done ahead of the elections, she said, “The situation of Congress is really good right now. Work has been done, Rahul Gandhi has also worked, and the Congress president also visited Haryana. Rahul’s yatra really made a difference.”
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.
In a post on X, PM Modi said that he has observed the enthusiasm and support for the BJP after travelling all over the state.
"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.
Congress MP Deepender Hooda also requested the people of Haryana to come in large numbers tomorrow on the voting day and exercise their franchise.
"The day for which the people of Haryana were waiting impatiently has come. I request all the people of Haryana to come in large numbers tomorrow on the voting day and exercise their franchise. In the coming times, there should be a prosperous and progressive Haryana... We are fully confident that the Congress Party is going to form the government in Haryana with a majority," he said.
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. (ANI)
