Haryana Election Results Updates: Congress alleges glaring discrepancies related to EVMs, urges EC to conduct probe

In an apparent snub to ally Congress a day after assembly poll results in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir, the Samajwadi Party (SP) on Wednesday announced candidates for six of the 10 Uttar Pradesh assembly seats where bypolls are due later this year.

The Congress has been demanding five seats in the bypolls. The Election Commission is, however, yet to announce the schedule.

Shiv Sena (UBT) on Wednesday blamed ally Congress's defeat in Haryana on "overconfidence", and said the Congress must decide whether it wants to contest the Maharashtra elections on its own.

Exposing the fissures in the MVA even as seat-sharing talks are underway, Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut alleged that the Congress relies on its allies wherever it is weak, but ignores them where it is strong.

Going by the assembly polls trends in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra and Jharkhand which are expected to go polls by the end of this year will yield the same results, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said on Wednesday.

Addressing a press conference after coming back from a two-day Delhi tour, Naidu, showered praises on prime Minister Narendra Modi and said the country needs to support “one nation one elections’ as frequent polls would hamper the developmental work.

"Because of the decisions taken by the NDA government in Jammu Kashmir, not only has normalcy been restored, but also, BJP has emerged as the largest single party (in the polls in terms of vote share). This is good." "Narendra Modi has given the administration by blending development, welfare and good governance. It is yielding good results. If we observe these (poll) results, Maharashtra and Jharkhand would also yield the same result, I don’t have any doubt. I am confident that it will happen." The saffron party’s win in Haryana and vote share in Jammu and Kashmir is a “ historical victory” though there were speculations that the BJP was losing its sheen in the Hindi belt, he added.

Congress candidate from Haryana's Ambala Cantt seat, Parvinder Pal Pari said, "I was made to lose in the election, the party itself made me lose by fielding a rebel candidate as part of a conspiracy. We feel that if Kumari Selja had come on time, the election results would have been different...An independent candidate was fielded and she got the support of BD gang - Bhupinder and Deepender... Deepender Hooda made Chitra Sarwara (former Congress leader and independent candidate from Ambala Cantt) contest and supported her. Congress workers were threatened not to support me and support the independent candidate. Such a big conspiracy was hatched by the Haryana Congress..."

Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said, "...Definitely, the people of Haryana have given a lesson to the Congress party that you cannot run a state by dividing the Hindu society. Hindus are also aware of the conspiracy. Hindus also know how Rahul Gandhi is trying to divide the Hindu society. Haryana elections have shown that Hindus can stay united. And Hindus can see the notorious game plan of the Congress party."

Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole on Wednesday slammed ally Shiv Sena (UBT)'s MP Sanjay Raut for his remarks on Haryana poll outcome, stressing that accusations against Congress won't be tolerated.

Notably, the sparring between the two key Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) constituents cropped up even as the seat-sharing deliberations for the upcoming Maharashtra assembly polls is yet to be finalised.

A day after the BJP won a third consecutive term in Haryana, Raut suggested Congress' overconfidence was responsible for its defeat as the party didn't cobble up an alliance and instead chose to go solo.

He also claimed that the Congress relies on allies in weak regions but ignores them in its stronghold areas.

The Congress on Wednesday demanded a thorough probe into "discrepancies" found in some Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) during the counting of votes of the Haryana assembly polls and demanded that such EVMs should be sealed and secured pending the inquiry.

A delegation of top Congress leaders comprising former chief ministers Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Ashok Gehlot and AICC leaders K C Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh, Ajay Maken and Pawan Khera, besides Haryana Congress chief Udai Bhan, met with top Election Commission officials.

The delegation handed over a memorandum to the officials along with specific complaints from various constituencies in Haryana. Senior party leader Abhishek Singhvi joined the meeting online.

The new BJP government in Haryana will fulfil the hopes and aspirations of the people of the state and set new records of welfare of poor and good governance, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Wednesday.

Shah said this after Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini called on him, a day after the saffron party won the assembly elections for the third consecutive term.

"After the historic victory of BJP in Haryana, today Chief Minister Shri @NayabSainiBJP ji met me. I congratulated him on this grand victory.

"The BJP government will fulfil the hopes and aspirations of the people of Haryana who have given the BJP the opportunity to serve for the third time and will set new records of welfare of poor and good governance in the state," Shah wrote on X in Hindi.

After meeting the ECI officials, Congress leader Pawan Khera said "We met the Election Commission officials and presented the documents of 7 Assembly constituencies...Their reaction as usual was a good smile and a good cup of tea but we need more. Complaints from 13 more Assembly constituencies will be submitted to ECI. There were issues regarding the batteries of the machines by our candidates. We have asked for a reply from ECI after conducting the investigation..."

After meeting the ECI officials, Congress leader Pawan Khera said "Today, KC Venugopal, Ashok Gehlot, Jairam Ramesh, Ajay Maken, Bhupinder Singh Hooda and other party leaders met the officials of ECI. We told ECI about the 20 complaints of which 7 are in written complaints from 7 constituencies. There were machines which were at 99% and other normal machines were at 60-70% on the day of counting. We demanded that those machines should be sealed and secured until the investigation is complete. We also told ECI that in the next 48 hours, we will also present the remaining complaints to them."

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said the result of the Haryana assembly elections in favour of BJP has "dispelled" the myth that the Modi 3.0 government is weaker than in the previous two terms.

Against the dominant narrative of a Congress comeback, the BJP has pulled off a historic third term on the trot in Haryana, a feat that will reinvigorate the ruling party cadres and could deal a debilitating blow to the Congress looking for further ascendency after its improved show in the Lok Sabha polls.

Former Haryana CM and Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda arrives at the Election Commission Office in Delhi.

Congress delegation will meet the ECI officials in connection with the Haryana Assembly Election results.

Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu said, "I congratulate Prime Minister Narendra Modi for historic electoral victory in Haryana and good performance in Jammu and Kashmir. This is an example that whenever a credible leader performs well, people support him and this is what happened in Haryana. Even in Jammu and Kashmir, BJP is the largest party in terms of vote percentage. Whenever there is stability in the government, there will be development. When there is development, there will be an increase in revenue...It is only through wealth creation, all problems will be eliminated. This is what Narendra Modi ji is doing. I really appreciate him. We support his policies on behalf of the NDA..."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the BJP's victory in the Haryana elections shows the mood in the country and the people have shown they will not fall prey to the hateful conspiracies of the Congress and "urban Naxals".

The Congress is an irresponsible party and a factory to "spread hatred" which wants to divide Hindus and pit one community against another, Modi said after virtually launching various development projects of more than Rs 7,600 crore in the Maharashtra.

The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) wants to weaken Maharashtra to gain power, but the ruling Mahayuti (comprising BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP) is determined to strengthen the state, he said.

Independent MLA from Haryana's Hisar Assembly seat, Savitri Jindal extends support to BJP

Her son and BJP MP Naveen Jindal said, "She has only one objective that she wants Hisar to develop, so she wants to work in the interest of Hisar and her objective in politics is to serve the people and everyone knows this very well, so Dharmendra Pradhan ji assured her that she will be respected..."

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said the party was analysing the "unexpected" results in Haryana and will apprise the Election Commission about complaints received from various constituencies of the state.

In his first reaction after the shock defeat in Haryana, the former Congress president also thanked the people of Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir for their support.

"My heartfelt thanks to the people of Jammu and Kashmir - INDIA's victory in the state is a victory of the Constitution, a victory of democratic self-respect," he said.

BJP MP Naveen Jindal, his mother and Independent MLA from Haryana's Hisar Assembly seat, Savitri Jindal meet Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and BJP MP Biplab Kumar Deb, in Delhi.

BJP leader Prasad Lad said, "... The Congress and the INDI alliance are doing the politics of narrative and only PM Modi's model of development has been able to stand against it... In J&K, BJP won only 29 seats but we have the biggest vote share... Uddhav Thackeray and Sanjay Raut are ready to go to any level for the CM position..."

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said the BJP's victory in the Haryana assembly polls has busted the "fake narrative" created by its rivals during the Lok Sabha elections held earlier this year.

While the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi allies were earlier saying they were united, now they are taking potshots at each other, Fadnavis told reporters at the Nagpur airport.

Chief Minister of Haryana Nayab Singh Saini called on President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Independent MLA from Haryana's Ganaur Assembly seat, Devender Kadyan extends support to BJP

He said, "I am supporting the BJP government. All the 36 fraternities of Ganaur have voted for me and their aspirations can be fulfilled only by joining the government. We will support the BJP for the development of Ganaur. Earlier I was in the BJP and all are like my family... I am not joining the party, I will support the government."

On Congress party lost Haryana elections, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said, "...Congress party should have taken advantage of the 10 years of anti-incumbency, but it seems that due to their internal differences, BJP got the benefit. If you give the BJP even a little chance in the electoral battle, then the BJP takes advantage of it. After the 2024 elections in the Parliament, I had said that those who are saying that this is a big success on hatred, I had said at the time also that this is not the case, so who is responsible for the success of BJP? You (Congress) are the main opposition there and they had the golden opportunity to defeat BJP but they could not do it..."

Haryana BJP President Mohan Lal Badoli said, "..For the third time, people have voted to form the double-engine govt in Haryana. We came here to meet the national leaders, including the party's president JP Nadda. There have been no talks regarding any other thing (CM face and oath). Everything will be decided after Dussehra. This is festival time, and meetings will be held after Dussehra to decide these things."

Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini said, "...It is because of PM Modi's policies that BJP is going to form the government in the state for the third time. The biggest reason for our victory is the benefits people are getting at the grassroots level..."

On oath ceremony, he says," The parliamentary board will decide this."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi celebrated the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) historic victory in the Haryana assembly elections, emphasizing that the public has shown resilience against Congress's divisive tactics. Speaking during a virtual conference for the launch of various development projects in Maharashtra, he stated, "The public has demonstrated that it will not fall prey to Congress's hate conspiracies and its urban naxal agenda."

Modi urged party members to build on the momentum from Haryana and strive for an even larger victory in the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections. He reiterated the importance of the BJP's performance, saying, "BJP has won Haryana assembly polls; in Maharashtra, we have to get a bigger victory."

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi expressed disappointment over the party's unexpected loss in the Haryana assembly elections. He announced plans to inform the Election Commission about complaints of irregularities from various assembly constituencies.

In a statement on X, he said, “Heartfelt thanks to the people of Jammu and Kashmir—India's victory in the state is a victory of the Constitution, a victory of democratic self-respect. We are analyzing the unexpected results of Haryana. We will inform the Election Commission about the complaints coming from many assembly constituencies. Heartfelt thanks to all the people of Haryana for their support and our Babbar Sher workers for their tireless hard work. We will continue this struggle for rights, social and economic justice, and truth; we will keep raising our voices.”

The BJP secured victory in Haryana by winning 48 out of 90 seats, while Congress, once favored to win, managed to secure only 37 seats.

In the wake of the Haryana election results, AAP chief spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar criticized the Congress party for its “over-self-confidence,” which she believes contributed to their defeat. Kakkar highlighted that Congress failed to recognize the significance of alliances in the electoral landscape. “Congress has faced defeat (in Haryana) because of over-self-confidence. In the Delhi Assembly, Congress has been on 0 (seats) for the last ten years. However, AAP gave Congress three seats in the Lok Sabha. Congress didn’t feel it important to take its alliance party along with them,” she stated.

Following the BJP's victory in Haryana, wrestler and BJP leader Babita Phogat attributed the win to the developmental initiatives led by Prime Minister Modi and Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini. She criticized the opposition, stating, "Be it Rahul Gandhi or Priyanka Gandhi or the opposition leaders in Haryana, they spread a politics of lies here." Phogat emphasized that the people of Haryana recognized and rejected these "lies," choosing instead to support Modi's policies. "People have voted for the development of Haryana. I thank them for it," she added, underscoring the public's endorsement of the BJP's agenda.

In light of the recent election results, former Uttarakhand Chief Minister and Congress leader Harish Rawat criticized the BJP's campaign tactics in Haryana. He asserted that the BJP's victory stemmed from a "misleading poll campaign" that fostered social hatred at a micro level. "The party (Congress) will analyze the reasons," he stated, adding, "However, I have understood that BJP used its politics of social hatred. They misled people, and that's how they got votes. This mandate is completely opposite of people's sentiments." Rawat's comments reflect Congress's ongoing effort to understand the factors contributing to their electoral setbacks.

In his initial remarks following the election results in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi stated that the party is reviewing the "surprising outcomes in Haryana." He emphasized the need for scrutiny, mentioning that Congress will be notifying the Election Commission regarding complaints received from various assembly constituencies. Gandhi's comments reflect the party's intention to address perceived discrepancies in the electoral process and to understand the factors contributing to the election results.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has made history in Haryana by securing a resounding victory, marking its third consecutive term in power in the state. This success not only consolidates its position in Haryana but also boosts its morale as it heads into upcoming elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand.

Additionally, the BJP has improved its standing in Jammu and Kashmir, where the central government has claimed credit for conducting elections and establishing an elected Union Territory (UT) Assembly for the first time since the region's special status was revoked. However, the Assembly’s powers remain significantly limited.

This electoral verdict sends multiple messages, particularly regarding the political landscape ahead. For the Congress party, the results highlight a pressing need to reassess its strategies and build stronger alliances to regain ground in future contests.

A day after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured a historic third term in the Haryana Assembly elections, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi on Wednesday, as reported by PTI.

In a statement following the meeting, Saini attributed the party’s success to PM Modi’s policies, asserting that, despite predictions by psephologists favoring Congress, he remained confident that voters would trust the BJP due to its governance.

Addressing Congress's claims regarding doubts over electronic voting machines (EVMs), Saini criticized the opposition for what he described as a "storm of lies." He emphasized, “The credit for this significant win goes to Modi, who introduced schemes over the last decade that have benefited the poor, farmers, youth, and women. These initiatives have positively impacted all sections of society. People love him, and that’s why the BJP is returning to power for a third time.”

Sources from News18 suggest that all Independent MLAs in Haryana are expected to align with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). This support could further bolster the BJP's position in the assembly following their recent victory in the state elections. The backing of Independent lawmakers may facilitate the BJP's efforts to consolidate power and implement its governance agenda effectively.

Former Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar credited silent voters for the BJP's historic third consecutive term in the state. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Khattar emphasized the impact of those who did not vocalize their support publicly but significantly influenced the election outcome.

“Silent voters have played a major role. Vocal voters discuss their issues with the media, but silent voters don’t,” Khattar told ANI. He further attributed the party's success to the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, adding, “The kind of work that the BJP is doing under the leadership of PM Modi, it is all being liked by the people. People are liking the policies and they are responding to it.”

In a nail-biting election result, BJP candidate Devender Chatar Bhuj Attri has secured victory from the Uchana Kalan seat with an incredibly narrow margin of just 32 votes against Congress's Brijendra Singh. This result, declared on Tuesday, marks the lowest victory margin among the 90 assembly segments that held polling on October 5. The close call highlights the intense competition in this election cycle, reflecting the evolving political landscape in Haryana.

Congress MP Kiran Kumar Chamala expressed his disappointment over the party's performance in the Haryana assembly elections, attributing the defeat to the division of anti-incumbency votes and leadership differences. He noted, ‘...Today's early trends were unusual, nearly 60+ seats were for the Congress but within a short span, the results were overturned. We thought BS Hooda didn't get a greater opportunity last time to give seats to his core members, so we prioritized him this time. However, the internal Congress system sometimes lacks a unified direction, which has affected Haryana. AAP and some Independent candidates contested, dividing anti-incumbency votes. I am not able to digest this loss because we were 100% expecting victory in Haryana. We hope to perform better in the upcoming Jharkhand and Maharashtra elections and learn lessons along the way.’"

Former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur praised the BJP for its impressive win in the Haryana assembly elections. He noted, ‘According to yesterday's exit polls, Congress was expected to form the government and secure over 60 seats. However, as the votes were counted, the BJP achieved a historic victory.’ Thakur's comments reflect the unexpected turnaround in the election results.

In a rally following the Haryana election results, Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the BJP's victory while condemning the Congress party for allegedly undermining key institutions such as the Election Commission, police, and judiciary. Modi remarked, ‘Congress wants to tarnish every institution. They created chaos before the Lok Sabha elections and have repeatedly tried to mislead the people of the country.’ He emphasized that questioning the integrity of these institutions has become a habitual practice for the Congress."

Following the BJP’s victory in the Haryana assembly elections, CM Nayab Singh Saini met his mother to seek her blessings. In a heartfelt post on X, Saini shared, ‘After the results were declared, I took blessings from Mother. Her love and blessings are the elixir for living life,’ he said, describing the moment as she welcomed him with a tilak."

Congress’s defeat in key Jat strongholds like Sonepat, Jind, and Charkhi Dadri, along with dissident candidates in 17 constituencies, crippled its chances. ‘Dissidents like Lalit Nagar in Tigaon and Chitra Sarwara in Ambala Cantt drew away significant votes, hitting Congress hard,’ a party insider remarked.

In a surprising turn, the BJP managed to secure Jat-dominated seats like Uchana Kalan and Safidon, capitalizing on a split in Jat votes. ‘The Jats as a community are attached to the individual, not ideology,’ said a BJP leader, explaining how the division of votes played in their favour.

The BJP’s strategic switch from Manohar Lal Khattar to Nayab Singh Saini was key in addressing anti-incumbency sentiment. ‘Saini’s projection as CM helped manage the anger and disillusionment with Khattar,’ a BJP leader noted. The move, backed by Union home minister Amit Shah, solidified Saini’s role, putting an end to speculation about Khattar’s influence.

The BJP pulled off a stunning victory in Haryana’s 2024 assembly elections, winning 48 seats and clinching a third straight term, despite facing 10 years of anti-incumbency. The move to replace Manohar Lal Khattar with Nayab Singh Saini as chief ministerial candidate played a pivotal role, with senior leaders crediting this decision for quelling public discontent.

Good morning! Welcome to our live coverage of the Haryana elections. Stay with us for real-time updates and all the key developments.