Early trends from the vote counting on Tuesday indicated that Congress was significantly ahead of the BJP in Haryana and also leading in Jammu and Kashmir alongside its ally, the National Conference.
TV reports covering 78 of the 90 seats in Haryana revealed that Congress was leading in 48 seats—exceeding the majority mark of 45—while the BJP was ahead in 23 seats. The INLD was leading in three seats, and the AAP had not yet begun to gain traction.
Additionally, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini was leading in the Ladwa seat in Kurukshetra district, while Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda was ahead in the Garhi Sampla-Kiloi constituency in Rohtak district.
BJP leader Anil Vij was leading from his Ambala Cantt seat, and INLD leader Abhay Singh Chautala was ahead in Ellenabad. Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala's son, Aditya Surjewala, was also leading in the Kaithal seat, according to early trends.
Haryana's Chief Electoral Officer, Pankaj Agarwal, confirmed that three-tier security arrangements were in place at the counting venues.
In Jammu and Kashmir, trends from 74 of the 90 seats indicated that the Congress-National Conference alliance was leading in 39 seats, while the BJP was ahead in 25. The PDP was leading in six seats, with three seats going to ‘others.’
The Congress-National Conference alliance, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are the key players in the closely watched assembly elections, which take place five years after the former state was divided into the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
Before the counting of votes began in Jammu and Kashmir, BJP state unit president Ravinder Raina conducted a 'yagya' on Tuesday morning and expressed confidence that the party would secure a majority and potentially form a government, possibly with the support of independent candidates.
The counting of votes in both Haryana and J-K began at 8 am.
These are early trends and the final results may vary widely.
(With inputs from agencies)
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