Haryana Election 2024 Exit Polls Highlights: First few pollsters give clear majority for Congress, BJP trailing behind

After witnessing the weeks of high-octane poll campaigns for assembly elections, Haryana on Saturday will vote to elect MLAs for the 90-member House.

The voting for the Haryana assembly polls—a high-stakes battle for the BJP, Congress, and AAP (Aam Aadmi Party)—concluded on Saturday, weeks after high-octane poll campaigns. Now, people are eagerly looking for the exit polls.

Exit polls indicate a strong lead for Congress in Haryana, projected to win between 44 to 62 seats, while the BJP is expected to secure 18 to 26 seats, signaling potential prospects for a Congress government after a decade, with regional parties losing support.

Haryana Election 2024 Exit Polls Highlights:

➤ Congress to get a clear majority with 55-62 seats in Haryana, BJP to win 18-24 seats, as per Matrize. ➤Exit Poll by Peoples Pulse shows a clear edge for Congress, projected to win 54 seats. The ruling BJP is expected to secure 26 seats. Regional parties like lINLD and JJP are losing ground.➤Congress is projected to win 44-54 seats, while the BJP will be limited to 19-29: Likely prospects for a Congress government after 10 years, with regional parties facing losses, according to Dainik Bhaskar.➤News18 exit polls indicate that Congress is projected to win 59 seats in Haryana, while the BJP is expected to secure 21 seats.

➤Congress is expected to clinch victory in 50-64 seats, while the saffron party is projected to win 22-32 seats, says Dhruv Research.

Read More: Haryana Exit Poll Results 2024 Live Updates

Haryana Election 2024: Battle for power:

In the state’s 90-member house, the BJP (Bhartiya Janata Party) is eyeing a third straight term to power in the state, while the Congress party is focused on regaining power by leveraging anti-incumbency sentiments and addressing the concerns surrounding farmer and wrestler protests.

In a bid to make inroads in Haryana, Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP has decided to punch above its weight as it is contesting all the seats after its alliance talks with Congress faltered.

Dushyant Chautala’s Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), earlier BJP’s ally, tied up with the Chandrashekhar Ravan’s Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram). The alliance is contesting all assembly constituencies in Haryana, with JJP competing on 70 seats while ASP on 20.

Haryana Assembly Elections Key candidates:

Two other parties, ex-CM Om Prakash Chautala’s INLD and Mayawati’s BSP, have entered into a pre-poll alliance, expecting to sway a significant Jat and Dalit votes in its fold.Read More: Haryana Voter Turnout TodayProminent among those in the fray include chief minister Nayab SIngh Saini (Ladwa), leader of opposition in Haryana assembly 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).

Among the independent candidates include Savitri Jindal (Hisar), Ranjit Chautala (Rania) and Chitra Sarwara (Ambala Cantt).This election, there is a drop in the number of women candidates. Only 101 women are contesting for the Haryana election including Ambala’s Shakti Rani Sharma and Shalley Chaudhary.

A three-way contest:

Congress is eyeing a comeback in this northern state after a decade, while the saffron party is looking for a hatrick. Both parties launched aggressive campaigns to win the support of the people of Haryana. As BJP relies on its 10-year development record, Congress is attempting to capitalise on anti-incumbency sentiment and issues such as the farmers’ protest and the Agnipath Scheme, which offers short-term recruitment in the armed forces.In the run-up to the assembly elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held four rallies in the state, targeting Congress on various issues, including corruption in land deals, urban-Naxal agenda, reservations, appeasement, dynasty politics and Article 370. On the other hand, Congress’ campaign focused on allegations of misgovernance by former CM Manohar Lal Khattar, who led the BJP government in the state for nearly 9 and a half years.In a strategic move ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP replaced Khattar with Nayab Singh Saini as the CM of Haryana.Meanwhile, AAP is independently contesting the Haryana assembly elections for the first time. The party has gained momentum in the final stages of campaigning, boosted by the release of former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal from jail. AAP, which has fielded candidates for all seats, has offered tickets to disgruntled ticket aspirants from BJP, Congress, and INLD. The party has embraced five rebels from BJP, three from Congress, and one from INLD.

When will the results be announced?

The counting of the votes will be done on October 8, along with the Jammu and Kashmir, where elections were held after 10 years.

What happened in 2019 Haryana elections?

In the 2019 Assembly elections, the BJP won 40 of the 90 seats, forming a coalition government with the JJP, which won 10 seats. The Congress secured 31 seats. However, JJP later broke out of the coalition.