Haryana records 7.44 per cent polling in first two hours

Polling began on Monday morning in 90 assembly constituencies of Haryana and during first two hours the poll percentage in the state was 7.44 per cent.

Polling began at 7 am and would continue till 6 pm, officials said.

As per the Election Commission data, brisk polling was going on in many districts.

Among other districts, poll percentage in Jind was 7.91 per cent, Bhiwani 10.76 pc, Ambala 6.67 pc, Palwal 8.88 pc, Gurgaon 6.4 pc, Faridabad 6.1 pc, Mewat 10.24 pc, Rewari 6.79 pc, Rohtak 9.80 pc, Hisar 11 pc and in Karnal district it was 5.92 per cent. Panchkula district had the lowest polling percentage at 2.46 per cent.

As many as 1,169 candidates, including 105 women of various political parties, are contesting the election.

The prominent figures include Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, JJP’s Dushyant Chautala and INLD’s Abhay Singh Chautala.

Haryana’s lone woman minister Kavita Jain, along with her husband and BJP leader Rajiv Jain and their two children, both first-time voters, was among the early voters to cast vote in Sonepat.

Chief Minister Khattar was travelling by a Jan Shatabdi train from Chandigarh to cast his vote in Karnal from where he is seeking re-election.

Dushyant Chautala, along with wife Meghna and MLA-mother Naina Chautala, rode a tractor to reach the polling booth in Sirsa.

Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala, along with wife Gayatri, exercised his right to franchise in Kaithal while Haryana Congress chief Kumari Selja exercised her vote in Sirsa.

Wrestler-turned-politician and BJP candidate from Dadri, Babita Phogat, also cast her vote from her native village in Bhiwani along with father Mahavir Phogat and sister Geeta Phogat.

Some contesting candidates also offered prayers at temples and other places of worship before casting their vote.

The BJP led by Khattar has set a target of winning 75 seats, while the Congress is hoping to make a comeback following a change in guard in the state.

Currently, the BJP has 48 members in the state assembly.

As many as 19,578 polling stations had been set, including 13,837 in rural areas, Chief Electoral Officer, Haryana, Anurag Agarwal said.

Tight security arrangements had been made and over 75,000 security personnel mobilised for the polls, DGP Manoj Yadava said earlier.