Wait over, results today
Counting of votes will take place in 91 centres in 59 locations across the state at 8am, clear trends expected by 10am, says joint CEO Inder Jeet
CHANDIGARH:THE fate of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which is taking a second straight shot at power in Haryana will be clear on Thursday as the counting of votes will start at 8 am with clear trends expected by 10am. The counting of votes will take place in 91 counting centres set up in 59 locations.
Haryana recorded a low voter turnout of 68.31% in the October 21 assembly election with 69.36% male and 67.12% female casting their votes in the multi-cornered fiercely fought election.
As many as 1,169 candidates, 1,064 male and 105 female, are in the fray across 90 assembly seats.
While maximum 25 candidates are contesting from Hansi segment, the minimum 6 each candidate are in the fray from Ambala Cantt and Shahabad.
BJP and the Congress are locked in a direct contest in most of the constituencies.
According to Haryana’s joint chief electoral officer Inder Jeet, the counting centres have been set up in all the 90 assembly segments. He said in Badshahpur segment, two counting centres have been set up.
It was for the first time in October 2014 when the BJP came anxiously hoping to bounce back.
Performance of the new entrant Jannayak Janta Party, the offshoot of the Indian National Lok Dal, will be watched closely. The poll outcome will settle the tussle between the JJP and the INLD about which party is the true inheritor of the legacy of Ch Devi Lal, the founder of the INLD.
Most of the exit polls predicted that the JJP could perform better than INLD.
In 2014, the BJP won 47 seats and the Congress 15, with two Haryana Janhit Congress legislators later merging with it. The INLD had 19 seats and the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Shiromani Akali Dal one each. There were five independents.
Led by chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, the BJP has set a target of winning 75 seats in the state, where the Congress is struggling to make a comeback.