CHANDIGARH : Riding a Modi wave, BJP, which contested Assembly polls on its own in Haryana for the first time, is set to attain majority in the 90-member Assembly, winning eight seats and leading in 43 others.
As per the Election Commission till 1 PM, out of total 90 seats, BJP has won eight and was leading comfortably on 43 others, Congress bagged three and leading in 11, Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) won three and leading in 18 while its ally Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) had won one.
Independents bagged one seat and were leading in four others while Haryana Janhit Congress is leading in two seats.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who addressed 11 rallies in the state in the run-up to the October 15 polls, has clearly helped BJP romp home comfortably, a senior party leader said.
Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s development plank did not strike a chord with the electorate.
Conceding defeat, he hoped that the new dispensation will continue the growth momentum that has been in the state during its 10-year rule.
“A new government is going to come. I hope they will keep the growth momentum of Haryana,” Hooda told reporters.
INLD, which is out of power in the state for about a decade, is likely to end up as the second largest outfit in terms of number of seats won.
Outfits like Kuldeep Bishnoi’s Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC BL) and its ally former union minister Venod Sharma’s Jan Chetna Party (JCP), BSP, Left, Haryana Lokhit Party (HLP) of Gopal Kanda, facing trial in air hostess suicide case, are set to bite the dust and their emergence on the political map of Haryana seems to be ebbing.
Prominent winners from BJP include Anil Vij (Ambala cant), Nayab Singh (Naraingarh), Gian Chand Gupta (Panchkula), Krishan Kumar (Shahbad-r), Latika Sharma (Kalka), Kavita Jain (Sonipat), Bishamber Singh (Bawani Khera-r) and Manish Grover (Rohtak).
Latika, considered to be close to Union Minister Sushma Swaraj and BJP’s Grover from Rohtak seat caused a major upset by defeating INLD’s Pardeep Chaudhary and Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s close associate Bharat Bhushan Batra of Congress.
Swaraj’s sister Vandana Sharma, a political greenhorn, is ahead of her Congress rival in Safidon seat.
As per initial trends, jailed leader INLD supremo Om Parkash Chautala’s family members were trailing on their seats. Former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal’s family members too are fairing poorly as per initial trends.
INLD Secretary General and Chautala’s younger son Abhay Chautala is trailing in his traditional bastion Ellenabad behind Pawan Beniwal of BJP.
Congress Minister Geet Bhukkal managed to retain her Jhajjar (R) seat, while party’s Chief Parliamentary Secretary Jaiveer Singh held Kharkhauda (R) seat.
Jai Tirath of Congress won by a slender margin of three votes from his nearest rival Inderjeet of INLD.
SAD managed to retain Kalanwakli (R) seat from where party candidate Balkaur Singh romped home victorious defeating Shishpal Kherwala of Congress.
In Punahana seat, Independent Rahish Khan drubbed INLD’s heavyweight Mohammade Ilyas.
During the 2009 Assembly elections, Congress had won 40 seats, INLD 31, BJP four, HJC-BL six, SAD and BSP one each and Independents seven. (AGENCIES)
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