Polling commences in Haryana for 90 seats

Polling commenced in Haryana on Thursday morning amidst tight security arrangements for the 90 member Haryana Assembly.

Polling commenced on Thursday morning amidst tight security arrangements for the elections to the 90-member Haryana Assembly.

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About 1.27 crore voters, including 58.31 lakh women, are expected to seal the fate of 983 candidates, including 60 women, at 12,636 polling stations of which about 38 per cent have been identified as sensitive or hyper-sensitive.

Official sources said that 95 companies of central paramilitary forces and those of the state police have been deployed to ensure free and fair polling.

The maximum of 22 candidates are in race for the Hissar Assembly seat and minimum six each in the five constituencies of Ratia, Naultha, Uehana Kalan, Rajaund and Toaru. The Congress and the BJP are contesting all the 90 seats each.

The ruling INLD is contesting from 89, the BSP 84, the CPI 10, the CPM five, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) 14, the RJD four, the CPI-ML two, the JD(U) one, independents 445 and others 149. The BJP, which had contested five years back in alliance with the INLD, is contesting on its own.

The key contestants include Chief Minister and ruling INLD President Om Parkash Chautala, contesting from Narwana and Rori, former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal (Adampur) and his son Chander Mohan (Kalka), former HPCC President Shamsher Singh Surjewala (Kaithal) and his son Randeep (Narwana), Indian Cricket Board President Ranbir Singh Mahendra (Mundal Khurd) and his brother Surinder Singh (Tosham), former HPCC President Birender Singh (Uchana Kalan), former Union Minister Venod Sharma (Ambala City), all Congress, former Deputy Speaker Gopi Chand Gehlot (Gurgaon, INLD).