Counting of votes for Baroda bypoll tomorrow

Sonepat deputy commissioner Shyam Lal Punia said the counting of votes will start at 8:00am.

The counting of votes for the Baroda bypoll in Haryana’s Sonepat will take place on Tuesday. The byelection for this assembly seat had taken place on November 3.

Police personnel checks a passerby in Sonepat on Monday. (Manoj Dhaka/HT)

Sonepat deputy commissioner Shyam Lal Punia said the counting of votes will start at 8:00am. “Six nakas have been established near the counting centre. Three-tier security will be deployed to ensure peaceful counting. The counting of ballots will be done till 8.30 am followed by counting of EVM votes. The Election commission of India had received a total of 438 postal ballots and 155 ballots of service voters. We urge people to stay at their home and avoid large gatherings in Gohana city,” the DC said.

The Baroda assembly seat had recorded an overall turnout of 68% on November 3. There are 14 candidates in the fray from the constituency. The seat fell vacant in April following the death of Congress MLA Krishan Hooda, who had won it consecutively thrice in 2009, 2014 and 2019.

While the BJP has fielded Olympian wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, who lost by about 4,800 votes to Hooda in the 2019 assembly election, the Congress has put its money on a newcomer, Indu Raj Narwal, a former member of Sonepat zila parishad. Seven independents and four candidates belonging to other parties, including former Kurukshetra MP Raj Kumar Saini, who heads the Loktantra Suraksha Party, are also in the fray from the constituency.

“A win here will underscore Hooda’s hold in the Deshwali belt and restore the Congress tally in the assembly to 31. However, the bypoll is significant for the BJP-JJP government as the outcome will reflect the performance of the government and mood of the voters towards the alliance partner,” he said.