Hung Assembly in Haryana; BJP-Sena set to return in Maharashtra

New Delhi, Oct. 24 (IANS): The Haryana Assembly poll verdict on Thursday threw up a hung House, with no party reaching the majority figures, in contrast to Maharashtra where the BJP-Shiv Sena combine was comfortably placed to retain power.

In Haryana, the ruling BJP emerged as the single largest party by winning 33 seats and leading at 7 others but fell short of the halfway mark by 5 seats.

The Congress, on the other hand, showed significant progress from its performance in the last Assembly elections by winning 29 seats and leading in 2. It had got 15 in the 2014 Assembly polls.

The nearly year-old Jannayak Janata Dal (JJP) was victorious in 10 constituencies, making it a possible kingmaker, along with 7 Independents.

INLD, which ruled the state for four times, was leading merely at 1 seat.

The outcome of the Assembly polls held on October 21 is a setback for the BJP, which had won 47 seats in the last state elections in 2014 and had been expressing confidence about raising its tally beyond 75 seats this time, using the nationalist pitch of abolition of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and Balakot air strike.

The results came as a shocker for the saffron party, particularly since it had won all the 10 seats in the Lok Sabha elections held just five months back. The Congress had failed to open account in the April-May Lok Sabha elections.

The BJP got 36.5 per cent votes while the Congress bagged 28.1 per cent votes.

The BJP had formed the government in Haryana for the first time in 2014, when it improved its tally from 4 in the previous elections.

The INLD, which ruled the state the last time from 2000 to 2004, stood second with 19 seats in the last Assembly elections and was the main Opposition party in the outgoing House.

JJP was formed in December last year after Dushyant Chautala, grandson of 4-time Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, split from INLD following a bitter fight in the family.

The Congress has already begun efforts to woo JJP leader Dushyant Chautala but he has refused to spell out his future course of action, saying it will be decided after the party”s meeting on Friday.

In Maharashtra, where 288 seats are at stake, the BJP won 72 seats and was leading at 31 while its ally Shiv Sena bagged 47 seats and was ahead in 10 constituencies.

From the Opposition camp, the Congress won 31 seats and was leading at 15 while its alliance partner Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) won 45 and was leading at 9 seats.

Going by the results and trends, the BJP”s tally is lesser by 19 seats compared to its performance in the last Assembly elections held in 2014 when it got 122 seats. Shiv Sena had 63 seats last time.

The NCP improved its performance significantly as it had got 41 seats in the last Assembly elections, when the Congress had got 42 seats.

In the by-polls held in 51 Assembly constituencies across 17 states, the BJP won 16 Assembly seats and was leading in one. The Congress, which was decimated in the general elections in May, bagged 11 seats in the by-elections held on October 21.

Exit polls fail to gauge fight by opposition

Most exit polls had predicted that the BJP would shellack its rivals in Maharashtra and Haryana, but they turned out to be way off the mark, failing to gauge the fight put up by the opposition.

The biggest shocker is in Haryana where at least three exit polls predicted decimation of the opposition, but the BJP is set to win 40 seats in the 90-member assembly and the Congress 31 seats.

The exit polls forecast did not match the actual results.

The ABP-C Voter had predicted 70 seats for the BJP and eight for the Congress, while the CNN-IPSOS and Times Now forecast of 75 and 71 for the BJP and 10 and 11 for the Congress respectively.

The India Today-Axis poll was the only one to get it right in Haryana.

It had predicted a tough contest between the Congress and the BJP. It said the BJP will win 32-44 seats in Haryana, while the Congress will bag 30-42 seats and 6-10 seats for the Dushyant Chautala-led Jannayaka Janta Party (JPP).

Its forecast about the actual results in Maharashtra was also close to the actual results.

In Maharashtra, the India Today-Axis poll predicted 166-194 seats for the BJP-Shiv Sena, 72-90 for the Congress-NCP and 22-34 for other smaller parties and independents.

In Maharashtra, the BJP-Shiv Sena combine is set to bag 159 seats and the Congress-NCP alliance 102 seats.

The ABP-C Voter had a made a forecast of 210 seats for the BJP and 63 seats for the Congress-NCP alliance, while the Times Now gave 230 and eight for 48 for the BJP-Sena and the Congress-NCP combine.