Vote counting for the October 5 Haryana assembly elections began at 8 am today under tight security. Early trends suggest a lead for BJP candidate Anil Vij from the Ambala Cantt constituency. Strict three-tier security measures were implemented at the counting venues, according to Haryana’s Chief Electoral Officer Pankaj Agarwal, who also said that postal ballots were counted first, followed by Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) after a 30-minute interval.

Haryana recorded a voter turnout of 67.90%, with exit polls predicting a Congress win. However, the BJP remains confident about securing a third consecutive term in the state. The main political parties in the race include the BJP, Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, INLD-BSP, and JJP-Azad Samaj Party. Most constituencies are seeing direct contests between the BJP and Congress.

A total of 1,031 candidates are contesting across Haryana’s 90 constituencies, which voted in a single phase. Two counting centres have been established for each of the Badshahpur, Gurugram, and Pataudi constituencies, while the remaining 87 constituencies have one counting centre each. The Election Commission has appointed 90 observers to oversee the counting process.

Notable candidates include Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini from Ladwa, Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda from Garhi Sampla-Kiloi, and INLD's Abhay Chautala from Ellenabad. Other prominent candidates are BJP’s Anil Vij from Ambala Cantt, JJP’s Dushyant Chautala from Uchana Kalan, and Congress’ Vinesh Phogat from Julana.

In Tosham, Shruti Choudhry of the BJP faces her cousin Anirudh Chaudhary. From Kaithal, Aditya Surjewala, son of senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala, is contesting. Meanwhile, in Dabwali, Aditya Devi Lal, the grandson of former deputy prime minister Devi Lal, is up against JJP's Digvijay Singh Chautala, another descendant of the late leader.

The BJP has also fielded Bhavya Bishnoi, grandson of former chief minister Bhajan Lal, from Adampur, and Arti Rao from Ateli in Mahendragarh, whose father is Union minister Rao Inderjit Singh. Key independent candidates include Savitri Jindal from Hisar and Ranjit Chautala from Rania.

In 2019, the BJP formed a coalition government with the JJP and support from independents. However, the alliance dissolved in March, leading to BJP replacing Manohar Lal Khattar with Nayab Singh Saini as chief minister.

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