The state is gearing up for elections across its 90 Assembly seats, with multiple political parties ready to contest.
On August 16, during a press conference, the Election Commission revealed that voting for the Haryana Assembly elections will take place in a single phase on October 1, with results being declared on October 4.
Alongside Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir will also hold elections, with results scheduled to be announced on October 4 as well.
This will be the first state assembly election since the BJP-led NDA alliance secured its third consecutive victory in the Lok Sabha elections.
Key Political Parties in the Race
Several parties are contesting in the Haryana Assembly elections. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Indian National Congress (INC), and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are all contesting independently, while the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) have formed an alliance.
The Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) has yet to announce whether it will contest the elections alone or form an alliance.
BJP has announced that it will contest under the leadership of Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, while the Congress has not yet named a chief ministerial candidate.
Earlier in July, the BSP and INLD announced an alliance for the Assembly elections, with Abhay Singh Chautala as their chief ministerial candidate.
What Happened in the Last Election?
The last Haryana Assembly election took place in October 2019.
At that time, a coalition government was formed, and Manohar Lal Khattar was appointed Chief Minister for the second consecutive term. Dushyant Chautala’s newly formed party, Jannayak Janata Party (JJP), joined the government, and Chautala was appointed Deputy Chief Minister.
In the 2019 election, BJP secured 40 seats, and JJP won 10, falling short of the 46-seat majority required. This led to the formation of a coalition government between the two parties.
Despite setting a target of winning more than 75 seats, BJP failed to secure a majority, a contrast to its success in 2014.
To ensure government stability, BJP chose to align with JJP instead of relying on independent candidates.
At the time, Dushyant Chautala had established the JJP after breaking away from his family’s party, the INLD, and was focused on building the party's political identity. After winning 10 seats, he was given the opportunity to become Deputy Chief Minister.
However, this decision did not sit well with some of his supporters, as Chautala had heavily criticized the BJP during his campaign.
Dushyant had promised to raise the old-age pension to ₹5,100 and reserve 75% of jobs for local youth, but these promises were not fulfilled.
After four and a half years of the coalition, BJP ended its alliance with JJP in March 2024.
In the 2019 Assembly elections, Congress won 31 seats, INLD secured one, HLP leader Gopal Kanda won one, and the remaining seats were won by independent candidates.
Khattar Resigns, Nayab Singh Saini Takes Over as Chief Minister
Following the breakup of the BJP-JJP alliance, Manohar Lal Khattar resigned from the Chief Minister post before the Lok Sabha elections. Subsequently, Kurukshetra MP Nayab Singh Saini was appointed as the new Chief Minister of Haryana.
Khattar contested and won the Karnal Lok Sabha seat, while Saini contested and won the Karnal Assembly seat, leading Saini to take charge of the state government while Khattar moved to the center.
Congress’s ‘Haryana Maange Hisaab’ Campaign
In July, the Congress Party, led by former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, launched a ‘charge sheet’ against the BJP government, criticizing it on issues such as unemployment and law and order.
The party also initiated a statewide campaign on July 15 named 'Haryana Maange Hisaab,' during which Congress leaders will visit all 90 Assembly constituencies over two months to highlight the government’s shortcomings.
Hooda emphasized that the campaign aims not only to expose the government’s flaws but also to gather public feedback for the party’s election manifesto. Hooda stated that if Congress forms the government, it will address these issues.
Congress leader Udaybhan mentioned that the party’s ‘charge sheet’ raises 15 questions on various issues for the BJP.
The charge sheet also highlights that nearly 200,000 government job positions are vacant, including 60,000 in the education sector and 20,000 in the police and health departments.
The BJP government has also faced accusations of scams and exam paper leaks. Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee chief Udaybhan accused the government of rising crime rates, increased atrocities against Dalits, and a surge in crimes against women.
He also mentioned that traders are facing harassment under the current government.
Lok Sabha Election Results
In the recent Lok Sabha elections, both BJP and Congress won five seats each.
Although BJP had claimed it would win all 10 seats in the state, as it did in 2019, the party failed to achieve this goal this time.
This result is seen as a sign of growing discontent against BJP's 10-year rule.