Trends show Cong ahead in Haryana, CM Saini, Hooda leading on their seats

Counting of votes polled in the October 5 assembly elections in Haryana began at 8 am on Tuesday, with early trends showing the Congress slightly ahead of the ruling BJP.

While some reports from the counting of postal ballots showed the Congress ahead on 26 seats and the BJP 21.

Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini was leading from his Ladwa seta in Kurukshetra district, while Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda was ahead of his rivals in Garhi Sampla-Kiloi constituency in Rohtak district.

Haryana's Chief Electoral Officer Pankaj Agarwal said three-tier security arrangements were in place at counting venues.

He said a day earlier that postal ballots will be counted first, followed by the counting of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) beginning 30 minutes later.

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.

The key parties and alliances in the fray are the BJP, the Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party, INLD-BSP and JJP-Azad Samaj Party. However, most seats will see a direct fight between the BJP and the Congress.

A total of 1,031 candidates, including 464 Independents and 101 women, are in the fray on Haryana's 90 constituencies which voted in a single phase on October 5.