The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to retain power in Haryana, leading in 49 seats, which halts a potential comeback for the Congress party after a decade. According to the latest trends from the Election Commission, the Congress is ahead in 36 seats, Independents have secured 3 seats, and the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) is leading in 2 seats.
Among the prominent candidates, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda have won their respective seats. However, INLD’s Abhay Singh Chautala lost, and Dushyant Chautala from the Jananayak Janata Party (JJP) is currently trailing.
Notable losses for the BJP include Haryana assembly speaker Gian Chand Gupta, Haryana Lokhit Party’s Gopal Kanda, and BJP leader O.P. Dhankar. In a significant victory, Congress’s Vinesh Phogat defeated her nearest BJP rival, Yogesh Kumar, by a margin of 6,015 votes in the Julana seat.
Despite several exit polls predicting a comfortable victory for the Congress, the BJP consolidated its position as the counting progressed. The Aam Aadmi Party did not secure any seats. The counting of votes began at 8 am amidst tight security.
