Chandigarh, Oct 8 (IANS): Defying all Exit Poll results, the ruling BJP on Tuesday crossed the majority mark in the Haryana Assembly by winning 48 seats, a rise from 40 seats in 2019 in the 90-member Assembly, with incumbent Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini saying the party is ready to serve Haryana for the third time, the record hat-trick of victories.
However, the Congress won 36 and was leading on one seat, according to results available on the Election Commission website at 8 p.m. The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) won two seats, while Independents had three.
Saying it is not possible for the party to accept the results, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh said: "Results in Haryana (are) totally unexpected, surprising; they go against ground reality."
Terming the BJP's win as "a victory of manipulation", he said serious issues raised by Congress candidates will be reported to the Election Commission.
"In Haryana, it's a victory of manipulations, subverting will of the people and a defeat of transparent, democratic processes. Victory is snatched from us in Haryana, results are against the sentiment of people which was for change," Ramesh added.
This electoral battle, the first significant face-off between the two national parties after the Lok Sabha elections, has the potential to shape the political discourse in the upcoming Assembly polls in Maharashtra, Jharkhand, and Delhi.
The BJP and Congress have been engaged in a seesaw battle since counting began at 8 a.m. Interestingly, the Aam Aadmi Party has not yet secured any seats in Haryana despite contesting on all 90 seats.
"The BJP is ready to serve Haryana for the third time," said BJP leader and incumbent Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, who won the Ladwa seat in Kurukshetra district.
Congress stalwart and two-time Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, under whose leadership the party campaigned, retained his stronghold Garhi Sampla-Kiloi constituency by 71,465 votes.
Interestingly, eight members from former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal’s clan contested from various constituencies in the elections, but only two of them emerged as the winners -- Arjun Chautala and Aditya Devi Lal of the INLD.
Arjun Chautala, 32, who is the younger son of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD)’s senior leader Abhay Singh Chautala, won the Rania seat, defeating the Congress’s Sarv Mitter, the BJP’s Shishpal Kamboj and the sitting MLA and BJP rebel Ranjit Chautala.
Contesting on the INLD's ticket, Aditya Devi Lal, 47, son of Jagdish Chander, fourth son of Devi Lal, won the Dabwali seat.
INLD's breakaway faction Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) chief Dushyant Chautala lost to BJP’s Devender Attri by a significant margin of 41,018 votes in Uchana Kalan.
The ruling BJP has crossed the majority mark in the Haryana assembly and won 48 seats, while the Congress was ahead on 37, according to the latest trends available on the Election Commission website.
Wrestler-turned-politician Vinesh Phogat won the Julana Assembly constituency by a margin of 6,015 votes.
"This was a people's battle, and they've won, and I was just a face. I am thankful for all the love and respect that I've received," said Congress candidate Vinesh Phogat.
"Whatever the high command decides will happen," said BJP's Anil Vij after winning the Ambala Cantt constituency for the seventh time.
In the Thanesar seat, Ashok Kumar Arora from the Congress secured victory with 70,076 votes, gaining a margin of 3,243 votes. His opponent, Subhash Sudha from the BJP polled 66,833 votes.
Savitri Jindal, an Independent candidate, has secured victory from Hisar. Savitri Jindal is India's wealthiest woman and controls OP Jindal Group.
She was in the fray for Hisar, the urban general seat with a 73 per cent literacy rate, which she represented for two consecutive terms from 2005.
She twice became a minister for nine years in the Bhupinder Hooda-led Congress government.
In these elections, she sought one last chance to serve the people and complete the development work of Hisar as the people's representative.
In Ambala Cantonment, BJP candidate and six-time legislator Anil Vij won by defeating his nearest rival, Independent candidate Chitra Sarwara.
BJP candidate Shruti Choudhry won against her cousin and Congress candidate Anirudh Chaudhary for the Tosham seat.
In the Muslim-dominated Nuh, all three seats were retained by the Congress. They are Aftab Ahmed from Nuh, Mohammad Ilyas from Punahana and Mamman Khan from Ferozepur Jhirka.