Sea-saw battle in Haryana, BJP now ahead of Cong

CHANDIGARH: The ruling BJP and the Congress were engaged in a sea-saw battle in Haryana on Tuesday as the Election Commission website showed the saffron party was just ahead of the Congress after about two hours of counting of votes on Tuesday.

According to EC trends available at 10 am, the BJP was leading in 43 seats and the Congress on 34, the first time the ruling party overtook the Congress after counting began at 8 am.

The counting of votes for all the 90 assembly seats began at 93 centres in 22 districts of the state amid tight security.

While the BJP is looking to retain power for a third consecutive term, the Congress is eyeing a comeback in Haryana after 10 years.

According to the latest EC trends, INLD and Independents were ahead on one seat each.

Earlier trends on the ECI website showed the Congress was leading on 18 seats while the BJP was ahead on 14 seats.

Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini was leading in Ladwa in Kurukshetra district by a margin of 732 votes.

As per the early trends shown by Election Commission website, former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda was leading from his Garhi Sampla-Kiloi seat in Rohtak district by a margin of 11,099.

Congress' Vinesh Phogat was leading from Julana seat in Jind by a margin of 214 votes.

Haryana's Chief Electoral Officer Pankaj Agarwal said three-tier security arrangements have been put in place at counting venues. Agarwal had Monday said the postal ballots will be counted first, followed by the counting of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).

Several exit polls have predicted a Congress victory in Haryana which recorded a voter turnout of 67.90 per cent. However, the BJP has claimed it will return to power for a third consecutive term.