New Delhi, 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 40 seats, 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 31 seats. It had got 15 in the 2014 Assembly polls.
The BJP got 36.49 per cent votes, while the Congress bagged 28.08 per cent votes.
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, managed just 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 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 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 four-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 100 seats and was leading in 5 seats till the filing of this report. Its ally Shiv Sena won 56 seats, taking their combined lead tally to 161 seats.
From the Opposition camp, the Congress won 40 seats and was leading in 4 seats while its alliance partner Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) won 51 seats and was leading in 3 constituencies.
Going by the results and trends, the BJP’s tally is lesser by 17 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.
