Haryana assembly elections have concluded. The main parties contesting the elections are the BJP, Congress, INLD-BSP alliance, JJP-Azad Samaj Party alliance, and the Aam Aadmi Party. Key candidates include Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, BJP leaders Anil Vij and OP Dhankar, Congress leaders Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Vinesh Phogat, INLD’s Abhay Singh Chautala, and JJP’s Dushyant Chautala.
Haryana CM and BJP's candidate from Ladwa assembly seat, Nayab Singh Saini casts his vote at a polling station in Ambala for Haryana Assembly Election.
Haryana is fully prepared for the 15th Legislative Assembly elections scheduled for today. According to Haryana's Chief Electoral Officer, Pankaj Agarwal 2,03,54,350 voters, including 1,07,75,957 males, 95,77,926 females, and 467 third-gender voters, are expected to vote today. A total of 1,031 candidates are contesting in 90 constituencies, with 20,632 polling booths set up for the election. The Chief Electoral Officer also mentioned that all polling stations will be monitored via webcasting at three levels on election day. Control rooms have been established at the state, district, and assembly levels to facilitate smooth oversight during the voting process. For security, 225 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces have been deployed.
Key parties in the fray include the BJP, Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), along with the pre-poll alliances of Indian National Lok Dal-Bahujan Samaj Party (INLD-BSP) and Jannayak Janta Party (JJP)-Azad Samaj Party (ASP). BJP is aiming for a third consecutive term in power, while the Congress is looking to make a comeback after a decade out of office. The results of the Haryana Assembly elections will be announced on October 8, alongside those of Jammu and Kashmir.
The decline in vote shares for smaller parties has been more pronounced in Lok Sabha elections, but the trend is also evident in state Assembly elections. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, smaller parties were virtually wiped out. The BJP and Congress, along with its ally Aam Aadmi Party, captured nearly 94 percent of the total votes. Among the smaller parties, the Dushyant Chautala-led Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) managed just 0.87 percent of the vote share. The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) secured 1.74 percent and 1.28 percent, respectively.
Since 2014, the BJP in Haryana has focused on appealing to all communities except Jats, successfully winning the 2014 and 2019 assembly elections by creating a Jat vs non-Jat divide. The party built a strong non-Jat coalition, with substantial support from Dalits, as well as Other Backward Classes (OBCs), Punjabi Khatris, and upper castes. However, there is debate over whether Dalits vote as a unified bloc. While some analysts believe the Dalit vote will favor the Congress, others argue that a significant portion of the community remains a core support base for the BJP. To better understand Dalit voting patterns in Haryana, one must consider the various sub-castes within the community.
 "Haryana Assembly polls 2024 highlights: Voting ends with 65% turnout by 6 pm")
