The intense campaign for Haryana's Oct. 5 assembly elections wrapped up on Thursday evening. The BJP aims to overcome anti-incumbency and secure a third consecutive term, while the Congress seeks to make a comeback after a decade in the political wilderness.
The polling for all the 90 constituencies in Haryana will take place on Saturday from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Over two crore voters are set to cast their votes in the state.
In the final hours before the campaign officially ended at 6:00 p.m., major parties including the BJP, Congress, AAP, INLD-BSP, and JJP-Azad Samaj Party made last-minute efforts to engage voters through rallies and roadshows.
No political party or candidate is allowed to hold public meetings or rallies during the 48-hour silence period.
A total of 20,629 polling booths have been set up for the elections, officials said.
There are 1,031 candidates in the fray, 101 of them women. Prominent among those in fray include Chief Minister Saini (Ladwa), Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda (Garhi Sampla-Kiloi), INLD's Abhay Singh Chautala (Ellenabad), JJP's Dushyant Chautala (Uchana Kalan), BJP's Anil Vij (Ambala Cantt) and O P Dhankar (Badli), AAP's Anurag Dhanda (Kalayat) and Congress's Vinesh Phogat (Julana). The independent candidates include Savitri Jindal (Hisar), Ranjit Chautala (Rania) and Chitra Sarwara (Ambala Cantt).
Haryana Election: Caste Holds The Key In Battle Between Congress And BJP
Wooing voters with promises, the Congress announced seven guarantees, including the promises of a legal guarantee for MSP, a caste survey, and Rs 2,000 per month to women if voted to power.
On the other hand, the BJP promised a monthly assistance of Rs 2,100 for women, two lakh government jobs for the youth and guaranteed government jobs for 'Agniveers' hailing from the state.
CM Nayab Saini addressed a public meeting in support of BJP candidate Kapoor Valmiki, organised at Dadu Nagari Bawani Kheda in Bhiwani district. (Source: X post)
The BJP focused its election campaign on the works and performance of the 'double-engine' government, while it targeted the Congress on reservation, corruption, appeasement and dynastic politics. Issues related to women, youth, farmers and the poor formed the core of the respective poll manifestos of the two main contesting parties.
On the last day of campaigning, Congress's Rahul Gandhi and Bhupinder Singh Hooda, BJP's Yogi Adityanath and Nayab Singh Saini, JJP's Dushyant Chautala and INLD's Abhay Singh Chautala were among the prominent leaders who canvassed for their respective parties.
In an interesting development, senior BJP leader and former MP Ashok Tanwar joined the Congress at Rahul Gandhi’s rally in Mahendragarh district Thursday. Shortly before joining the Congress, the former Sirsa MP was campaigning for the BJP candidate in the Safidon assembly constituency.
In the 2019 assembly elections, the BJP secured 40 seats while the Congress won 31. The BJP subsequently formed the government with the support of the JJP and several independent candidates. However, the JJP's alliance with the BJP came to an end after the BJP appointed Nayab Singh Saini as chief minister in March, replacing Manohar Lal Khattar.
(With inputs from PTI)
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