NEW DELHI: After witnessing the weeks of high-octane poll campaigns for assembly elections, Haryana on Saturday will vote to elect MLAs for the 90-member House.
With 1,031 candidates in the fray, electors in Haryana will be polling in a single phase to elect their assembly representatives.
Chief electoral officer Pankaj Aggarwal confirmed to news agency IANS that 20,632 polling booths have been set up statewide, including 455 in the Panchkula and Kalka assembly constituencies.
Polling will take place from 7 am to 6 pm, and a total of 2,03,54,350 people are eligible to exercise their franchise in the state.
In Panchkula, deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Himadri Kaushik has briefed paramilitary forces and police personnel on security measures, emphasising the need for heightened vigilance, especially at sensitive polling stations.
The poll body has laid down strict guidelines, with a zero-tolerance policy towards negligence during duty.
In the high-stakes polls, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP ) is scrambling to save its citadel in the northern state, while the Congress is pushing against the saffron party to regain the ground it lost in 2014.
In a bid to make inroads in Haryana, Arvind Kejriwal's AAP has decided to punch above its weight as it is contesting all the seats after its alliance talks with Congress faltered.
Dushyant Chautala's Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), earlier BJP's ally, tied up with the Chandrashekhar Ravan's Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram). The alliance is contesting all assembly constituencies in Haryana, with JJP competing on 70 seats while ASP on 20.
Two other parties, ex-CM Om Prakash Chautala's INLD and Mayawati's BSP, have entered into a pre-poll alliance, expecting to sway a significant Jat and Dalit votes in its fold.
Prominent among those in the fray include chief minister Nayab SIngh Saini (Ladwa), leader of opposition in Haryana assembly Bhupinder Singh Hooda (Garhi Sampla-Kiloi), INLD's Abhay Singh Chautala (Ellenabad), JJP's Dushyant Chautala (Uchana Kalan), BJP's Anil Vij (Ambala Cantt) and O P Dhankar (Badli), AAP's Anurag Dhanda (Kalayat) and Congress's Vinesh Phogat (Julana).
Among the independent candidates include Savitri Jindal (Hisar), Ranjit Chautala (Rania) and Chitra Sarwara (Ambala Cantt).
This election, there is a drop in the number of women candidates. Only 101 women are contesting for the Haryana election including Ambala's Shakti Rani Sharma and Shalley Chaudhary.
The counting of the votes will be done on October 8, along with the Jammu and Kashmir, where elections were held after 10 years.
With 1,031 candidates in the fray, electors in Haryana will be polling in a single phase to elect their assembly representatives.
Chief electoral officer Pankaj Aggarwal confirmed to news agency IANS that 20,632 polling booths have been set up statewide, including 455 in the Panchkula and Kalka assembly constituencies.
Polling will take place from 7 am to 6 pm, and a total of 2,03,54,350 people are eligible to exercise their franchise in the state.
In Panchkula, deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Himadri Kaushik has briefed paramilitary forces and police personnel on security measures, emphasising the need for heightened vigilance, especially at sensitive polling stations.
The poll body has laid down strict guidelines, with a zero-tolerance policy towards negligence during duty.
In the high-stakes polls, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP ) is scrambling to save its citadel in the northern state, while the Congress is pushing against the saffron party to regain the ground it lost in 2014.
In a bid to make inroads in Haryana, Arvind Kejriwal's AAP has decided to punch above its weight as it is contesting all the seats after its alliance talks with Congress faltered.
Dushyant Chautala's Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), earlier BJP's ally, tied up with the Chandrashekhar Ravan's Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram). The alliance is contesting all assembly constituencies in Haryana, with JJP competing on 70 seats while ASP on 20.
Two other parties, ex-CM Om Prakash Chautala's INLD and Mayawati's BSP, have entered into a pre-poll alliance, expecting to sway a significant Jat and Dalit votes in its fold.
Prominent among those in the fray include chief minister Nayab SIngh Saini (Ladwa), leader of opposition in Haryana assembly Bhupinder Singh Hooda (Garhi Sampla-Kiloi), INLD's Abhay Singh Chautala (Ellenabad), JJP's Dushyant Chautala (Uchana Kalan), BJP's Anil Vij (Ambala Cantt) and O P Dhankar (Badli), AAP's Anurag Dhanda (Kalayat) and Congress's Vinesh Phogat (Julana).
Among the independent candidates include Savitri Jindal (Hisar), Ranjit Chautala (Rania) and Chitra Sarwara (Ambala Cantt).
This election, there is a drop in the number of women candidates. Only 101 women are contesting for the Haryana election including Ambala's Shakti Rani Sharma and Shalley Chaudhary.
The counting of the votes will be done on October 8, along with the Jammu and Kashmir, where elections were held after 10 years.
