Haryana all set for polls Wednesday

Over 1.63 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise as all 90 assembly seats in Haryana go to polls Wednesday.

Balloting will be held at 16,357 centres between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m.

There are 1,351 candidates in the fray, including a record 109 women. Most constituencies are witnessing multi-cornered contests this time.

"Over 1.63 crore voters will exercise their right to vote to elect their representatives. All arrangements have been made for smooth conduct of the election process," the state's Chief Electoral Officer Shrikant Walgad said Tuesday.

There would be about 70,000 polling officials and over 50,000 security personnel, including 80 companies of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), stationed across Haryana for the election, Walgad said.

He urged voters to exercise their franchise "without fear or greed".

The main contest is between the ruling Congress, the main opposition Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The BJP is going alone for the first time in the state in this election.

Others in the fray include the Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC), the newly floated Haryana Jan Chetna Party (HJCP), Haryana Lokhit Party (HLP), and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

The Congress, led by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, is seeking a third term in office. Hooda has been chief minister since March 2005. His second term started November 2009.

In most constituencies, the contest this time is multi-cornered instead of the straight contests between the Congress and INLD earlier.

Elections are also being held for 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra Wednesday.