Counting of votes begins in Haryana

Chandigarh: The counting of votes polled in the October 5 assembly elections in Haryana began at 8 am on Tuesday amid tight security arrangements.

Officials said early trends were expected at some time.

Haryana's Chief Electoral Officer Pankaj Agarwal said three-tier security arrangements were in place at counting venues, Postal ballots will be counted first, followed by the counting of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) after 30 minutes, he said.

Several exit polls have predicted a Congress victory in Haryana which recorded a voter turnout of 67.90 per cent. However, the BJP has claimed it will return to power for a third consecutive term in Haryana.

The key parties in the fray are the BJP, the Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party, INLD-BSP and JJP-Azad Samaj Party. However, most seats will see a direct fight between the BJP and the Congress.

A total of 1,031 candidates, including 464 Independents and 101 women, are in the fray on Haryana's 90 constituencies which voted in a single phase on October 5.

Agarwal on Monday said 93 counting centres were set up for 90 assembly constituencies in 22 districts of the state.

Two counting centres each have been set up for the Badshahpur, Gurugram, and Pataudi assembly constituencies, while one counting centre each has been established for the remaining 87 assembly constituencies, where the counting began.

To monitor the counting process, 90 observers also have been appointed by the Election Commission of India.

Director General of Haryana Police Shatrujeet Kapur said comprehensive security arrangements were in place for the counting.

He said that a sufficient number of police officers were deployed at every counting centre.

CCTV cameras have been installed from the main gate to the entire premises of the counting centres, ensuring surveillance of every activity, Kapur said.

Male and female police officers have been deployed for frisking individuals entering the premises and Quick Response Teams (QRTs) are on standby to maintain law and order, Kapur said.

Agarwal said a total of 30 companies of Central Armed Police Forces were deployed at 93 counting centres.

Around 12,000 police personnel are on duty at the counting centres across the state, he said.

Agarwal said instructions were given to closely monitor social media to prevent the spread of any rumours related to the counting process.

Prominent among those in the fray are Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini (Ladwa), Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda (Garhi Sampla-Kiloi), INLD's Abhay Chautala (Ellenabad), JJP's Dushyant Chautala (Uchana Kalan), BJP's Anil Vij (Ambala Cantt), Capt Abhimanyu (Narnaund), O.P. Dhankar (Badli), AAP's Anurag Dhanda (Kalayat) and Congress leader Vinesh Phogat (Julana).

From the Tosham seat, former MP Shruti Choudhry of BJP and Anirudh Chaudhary, both cousins, are contesting.

From Kaithal, senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala's son Aditya is contesting while from Dabwali, Devi Lal's grandson Aditya Devi Lal, an INLD candidate, is taking on JJP's Digvijay Singh Chautala, great-grandson of the former deputy prime minister.

The BJP has fielded former chief minister late Bhajan Lal's grandson Bhavya Bishnoi from the Adampur segment of Hisar while its nominee from Ateli in Mahendragarh is Arti Rao, whose father Rao Inderjit Singh is a Union minister.

Among the Independents are Savitri Jindal (Hisar), Ranjit Chautala (Rania) and Chitra Sarwara (Ambala Cantt).

Taking on Dushyant from Uchana is Congress' Brijendra Singh, son of former Union minister Birender Singh.

A few rebels from both Congress and BJP have also entered the fray.

In 2019, the BJP formed the government with the support of JJP while most Independents also extended support.

However, JJP's post-poll tie-up with the BJP ended in March after the saffron party replaced Manohar Lal Khattar with Nayab Singh Saini as the chief minister.