Kurukshetra: Even as the Congress was leading in Haryana according to the early trends of counting of votes, the ruling BJP has staged a stunning comeback in the state with 90 assembly seats by crossing the halfway mark. According to the latest Election Commission data uploaded on its website around 11.45am, the BJP was leading in 49 seats with a close contest against Congress, which had taken the lead in 35 seats.
The BJP seeks a third consecutive term in Haryana. But, the Congress is equally determined to stage a comeback after 10 years of being out of power. This is the first significant face-off between the two national parties since the Lok Sabha elections.
The results of the Haryana Assembly polls are crucial with the potential to shape the political discourse in the run-up to assembly elections in Maharashtra, Jharkhand, and Delhi.
Voter turnout for Haryana was 67.90 per cent. According to majority of the exit polls, victory of Congress had been predicted in the state.
But, Chief minister Nayab Singh Saini and other BJP leaders had dismissed the exit poll results., Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda, a two-time former chief minister, had claimed that Congress would form the government in the state.
So far, the assembly elections in Haryana assembly have turned out to be a bipolar contest between the BJP and Congress. Parties like the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), and Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) have so far failed to make any major impact.
Congress alleges misleading trends
With early trends changing, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh took to social media alleging that the BJP was building pressure on administration by sharing outdated trends.
Like the Lok Sabha elections, in Haryana we are again witnessing slowing down of uploading up-to- date trends on the ECI website. Is the BJP trying to build pressure on administration by sharing outdated and misleading trends @ECISVEEP?
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) October 8, 2024
“Like the Lok Sabha elections, in Haryana we are again witnessing slowing down of uploading up-to- date trends on the ECI website. Is the BJP trying to build pressure on administration by sharing outdated and misleading trends @ECISVEEP?” Ramesh wrote on X.
“We are filing a memorandum in the next 5-7 minutes (around noon.) We are lodging a complaint. We hope that the EC will answer our questions. The results of 10-11 rounds are already out but only 4-5 rounds have been updated on EC website. This is a tactic to pressure the Administration…” Ramesh told the ANI.
#WATCH | #HaryanaAssemblyPolls2024 | Delhi: Congress General Secretary in-charge Communications, Jairam Ramesh says, “We are filing a memorandum in the next 5-7 minutes. We are lodging a complaint. We hope that the EC will answer our questions. The results of 10-11 rounds are… pic.twitter.com/yCQwNJ9CG0
— ANI (@ANI) October 8, 2024
‘Rift In INDIA BLOC: AAP undermined Cong in Haryana?’
Meanwhile, Swati Maliwal, a Rajya Sabha Congress MP, strongly criticised the Aam Aadmi Party for its alleged betrayal of the INDIA Bloc. She alleged that the party attempted to undermine the Congress in the Haryana elections.
The leader claimed that the AAP’s decision to contest the polls in Haryana was driven by a singular motive: to weaken the Congress’ chance of success.
“The party entered Haryana only to weaken the Congress. It falsely accused me of being a BJP agent, and today it itself is betraying the India Bloc and splitting votes of the INC!” she wrote in Hindi on X.
