Haryana votes today, BJP eyes a hat-trick, Congress a comeback

CHANDIGARH: BJP and Congress neck and neck, and the troika of JJP, AAP and INLD snapping at their heels - that's the set-up for the business end of Haryana's electoral race Saturday, with the saffron party eyeing a hat-trick of victories and the grand old party aiming for a comeback after a decade.

A 2 crore-strong electorate, over 95 lakh of them women, have 1,031 candidates to choose from for the 90 seats at stake. A total of 464 contenders are independents, some of whom could queer the pitch for the main contenders. The list includes a clutch of BJP and Congress rebels who decided to go it alone after being denied tickets.

In 2019 polls, BJP won 40 seats, Congress 31, and JJ.

The prominent contestants this time include ex-CM and leader of the opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda, incumbent Nayab Singh Saini, INLD's Abhay Chautala, former minister Capt Abhimanyu, ex-deputy CM and BJP's estranged ally Dushyant Chautala, and India's richest woman politician Savitri Jindal, who is contesting as an independent.

Also in the fray are several young political heirs, including Union minister Rao Inderjit Singh's daughter Aarti Rao, Abhay Chautala's son Arjun Chautala, Rajya Sabha MP Kiran Chaudhary's daughter Shruti Chaudhary, Hisar MP Jai Prakash's son Vikas Saharan, and Congress Rajya Sabha MP Randeep Surjewala's son Aditya Surjewala.

For Abhay Chautala's INLD and Dushyant Chautala-led JJP, this election is an existential battle, with both primarily aiming to be ahead of each other and retain their space as recognised political parties. AAP hopes to make a dent on its debut in Haryana after ousting Congress in neighbouring Punjab.

Of the 90 assembly seats, 17 are reserved for Scheduled Castes. Counting of votes is scheduled for Oct 8.

Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, and Mini Crossword.