Ambala: Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and party leader Priyanka Gandhi during a public meeting for the Haryana Assembly elections, in Naraingarh, Ambala district, Haryana, on Monday, September 30, 2024. ( Photo: PTI)
The Congress party may return to power in Haryana after a 10-year drought, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party revealed in the Assembly elections, exit polls showed on Saturday. According to the Bhaskar Reporters’ Poll, the Congress is likely to win around 44-54 seats in Haryana, while the BJP could be limited to 19-29 seats.
Meanwhile, regional players Jannayak Janta Party and Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) may face political annihilation in Haryana except for a few seats, polls have shown.
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The Bhaskar poll predicted 1-5 seats for the INLD-Bahujan Samaj Party alliance. Notably, INLD had won just one seat last time in 2019. For JJP and his colleague Chandra Shekhar Azad led Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram), the survey predicted up to one seat. JJP had won 10 seats last time and emerged as the king in the elections. It extended its support to the BJP, which won 40 seats, and helped the saffron party form a coalition government in Haryana. However, their alliance fell apart before the Lok Sabha elections.
According to ABP Matrize exit poll forecast, Congress may win 55-62 seats and BJP may get up to 24 seats. He said that INLD may win up to six seats and others are expected to win by 2-8.
Voting in all 90 constituencies of Haryana was held on Saturday, where around 61 percent voter turnout was recorded till 5 pm. The Congress was showing confidence in winning the election as it said that the BJP is facing anti-incumbency in the state.
However, earlier today, Union Minister and former Chief Minister of Haryana, Manohar Lal Khattar, dismissed the opposition’s claims, while noting that the Congress was suffering from internal dissension.
“There is bitterness in the Congress camp. It’s crowded there,” he said.
Former Congress Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda is the frontrunner for the CM post, but party leaders Kumari Selja and Randeep Singh Surjewala have also expressed their interest in the race. Meanwhile, the BJP has confirmed that incumbent CM Nayab Singh Saini will continue if the party wins.
First published: October 05 2024 | 7:34 PM IST