Saini later told reporters, “The mood of the people of Haryana is clear, the BJP is going to form government for the third time with a big mandate.” Paris Olympic double-medallist Manu Bhaker appealed to the people, especially the younger ones, to come out and cast their votes.The 22-year-old athlete cast her vote for the first-ever time, her father Ram Kishan Bhaker said.According to Haryana’s Chief Electoral Officer Pankaj Agarwal, 2,03,54,350 voters, are eligible to exercise their franchise in the election.The electorate includes 8,821 centenarians 3,283 male and 5,538 female. Of the total candidates, 101 are women, while 464 are Independent. A total of 20,632 polling booths have been set up across the state, Agarwal said.Besides the BJP and the Congress, the key contesting parties are the Aam Aadmi Party and the INLD-BSP and JJP-Azad Samaj Party alliances.In the last Assembly polls in 2019, the BJP had won 40 seats, the Congress 31 and the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) 10.The Congress has left the Bhiwani seat for its INDIA bloc partner CPI(M), while the BJP has made way in Sirsa for Haryana Lokhit Party chief Gopal Kanda, who is seeking re-election.Leader of Opposition B S Hooda (Garhi Sampla-Kiloi), Indian National Lok Dal’s Abhay Singh Chautala (Ellenabad), JJP’s Dushyant Chautala (Uchana Kalan), BJP’s Anil Vij (Ambala Cantonment), “Captain” Abhimanyu (Narnaund) and O P Dhankar (Badli), AAP’s Anurag Dhanda (Kalayat), and Congress’s Phogat, a former wrestler from Julana, are some of the more prominent candidates duking it out.
Source link
