Haryana is set to witness a crucial electoral battle on Saturday, with polling scheduled for 10 Parliamentary constituencies and one Assembly by-election. Elaborate security arrangements have been put in place across the state to ensure a peaceful and orderly voting process. Over 35,000 Haryana police personnel, 112 companies of paramilitary forces, and 24,000 home guards have been deployed to maintain law and order.
The contest is expected to be a primarily two-way race between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress party, although other parties like the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) will also challenge for votes. The BJP is aiming to repeat its clean sweep of all Lok Sabha seats like in 2019, while Congress is determined to regain its lost grounds in the state. The Congress has formed an alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) under the banner of the ‘Indian National Development Inclusive Alliance (INDIA)’ bloc. AAP will contest from Kurukshetra, while the Congress will field candidates in the other nine seats.
Among the key candidates contesting in the Lok Sabha polls are former Chief Minister Manohar Lal (BJP) from Karnal, Naveen Jindal (BJP) from Kurukshetra, and Kumari Selja (Congress) from Sirsa. The high-profile Assembly by-election will see Nayab Singh Saini (BJP), who succeeded Manohar Lal as Chief Minister, contest from Karnal.
To encourage voter turnout and make the process more inclusive, the Election Commission has set up a total of 20,031 polling stations, including 19,812 permanent and 219 auxiliary stations. Special measures like 99 polling stations managed solely by women staff, 96 polling stations staffed by youth, and 71 polling stations staffed by persons with disabilities have been implemented.
The outcome of the Haryana elections will have significant implications for the state’s political landscape. All eyes will be on the contest between the BJP and Congress and whether the latter can mount a credible challenge to regain its lost dominance.