EC likely to announce schedule for Haryana Assembly elections today

Chandigarh, Aug 16 (IANS) The Election Commission of India (ECI) is likely to announce the schedule for elections to Haryana's 90-seat Assembly on Friday.

The Election Commission will announce the dates in the afternoon, an official statement said.

Official sources told IANS that Haryana is likely to go to the polls in a single phase. The main contest is likely between the ruling BJP and the Opposition Congress. However, the Aam Aadmi Party will contest all 90 seats, senior party leader Sanjay Singh has already announced.

The Election Commission toured Jammu & Kashmir and Haryana this month to oversee the poll preparedness but is yet to visit Maharashtra.

In Haryana, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar along with Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and S.S. Sandhu held a comprehensive review of the poll preparedness for Haryana polls in Chandigarh.

The term of state Assembly in Haryana is due to expire on November 3 and elections are scheduled for the 90 Assembly Constituencies -- 73 general and 17 reserved for SC -- in the state.

During the two-day review visit of the Commission, representatives of national and state political parties namely the Aam Aadmi Party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, the CPI(M), the Indian National Congress, the Indian National Lok Dal and the Jannayak Janta Party met the Commission.

The main issues raised by political parties included the conduct of free and fair elections with strict action against the misuse of government machinery and the deployment of adequate Central forces in sensitive polling stations. Some parties also highlighted the requirement of updating the electoral roll with the removal of dead and shifted voters in Panchkula.

According to the Chief Electoral Officer, 2.01 crore electors are registered in the state with approximately 1.06 crore men and 95 lakh woman electors.

Over 4.52 lakh first-time voters (18-19 years), 2.55 lakh 85 plus senior citizens and 1.5 lakh Persons with Disabilities (PwD) voters are registered in the state. Over 10,000 voters are more than 100 years old.

When Manohar Lal Khattar became the Chief Minister on October 26, 2014, he was a political greenhorn. However, his party failed to cross the halfway mark in the 90-member Assembly in 2019. Khattar is now a Union minister.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the main Opposition led by two-time Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda of the Congress won five seats, while the BJP won an equal number of seats. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP won all 10 constituencies.

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