The counting of votes for both Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana will begin at 8 am on Tuesday at various counting centres. Political parties and leaders wait with bated breath for the poll results, with the ruling BJP in Haryana confident of retaining power for a third term. Congress is more than hopeful of making a comeback after 10 years. Initial trends will be based on the postal ballot votes.
J-K voted in three phases on September 18, September 25 and October 1. The voting in Haryana was held in a single phase on October 5. These are the first major elections in India following the recent Lok Sabha polls.
Haryana key candidates
The key parties in the fray are BJP, Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), INLD-BSP and JJP-Azad Samaj Party. However, most seats are likely to see a direct fight between the BJP and the Congress. Prominent among those in the fray are:
- BJP leader and CM Saini (Ladwa)
- Congress' Vinesh Phogat (Julana)
- Leader of opposition Hooda (Garhi Sampla-Kiloi)
- INLD's Abhay Chautala (Ellenabad)
- JJP's Dushyant Chautala (Uchana Kalan)
- BJP's Anil Vij (Ambala Cantt)
- Capt Abhimanyu (Narnaund)
- OP Dhankar (Badli)
- AAP's Anurag Dhanda (Kalayat)
Jammu and Kashmir key candidates
Congress-National Conference alliance, People's Democratic Party (PDP) and BJP are the main stakeholders in the keenly watched Assembly election that comes five years after the erstwhile state was bifurcated into the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. key candidates to watch out for are:
- NC leader Omar Abdullah (contesting from Budgam and Ganderbal)
- Sajad Gani Lone of People's Conference (from Handwara and Kupwara)
- Tariq Hamid Karra (Batamaloo)
- PDP's Iltija Mufti (Bijbehara)
- BJP state president Ravindra Raina (Nowshera)
- AICC general secretary Ghulam Ahmad Mir (Dooru)
- PDP leader Waheed Para (Pulwama)
- Apni Party president Altaf Bukhari (Chanapora)
- CPM veteran Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami (Kulgam)
- Former deputy CMs Muzaffar Hussain Baig (Baramulla) and Tara Chand (Central Shalteng)
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