Haryana Election Result 2019: BJP's Babita Phogat, Yogeshwar Dutt, Sandeep Singh trail, suggest early trends

Wrestler-turned-politician Babita Phogat, BJP's candidate for Dadri Assembly constituency in Haryana, is trailing against her rival candidate. The BJP candidate said on Thursday that she had "faith in public". "People have given me love and support, that is my strength, & what keeps me going. I have faith in public and myself, people will give blessings to their daughter," said the wrestler-turned politician.

The other two sportspersons wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt and former hockey India captain Sandeep Singh are also trailing from their respective constituencies. BJP is currently leading on 40 seats out of 90 seats in Haryana. Congress is ahead in 29 seats, while others are ahead on 21 seats. The BJP has also fielded TikTok star Sonali Phogat from Adampur constituency, who is also trailing by over 10,100 votes.

Prominent among those whose fate will be known on Thursday include Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, former Congress CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda, JJP leader Dushyant Chautala and INLD's Abhay Singh Chautala. Haryana ministers Ram Bilas Sharma, Anil Vij, Capt Abhimanyu, O P Dhankar and Kavita Jain also contested for the BJP. Apart from Hooda, other Congress bigwigs in the contest include Randeep Singh Surjewala, Kiran Choudhry, Ranbir Mahendra and Kuldeep Bishnoi.

This is a litmus test for the Manohar Lal Khattar government to secure a second-term for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state. The polls for the 90-seat Haryana assembly were held on October 21 alongside Maharashtra. The state witnessed a voter turnout of 68.47% as against 76.54% in the previous assembly elections. The main contest is between the BJP and Congress on several seats but the new Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), which broke away from the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), is being closely watched.

Edited by Manoj Sharma

Also read: Haryana Assembly Election Results 2019 Live Updates: Congress will get majority, form govt, says Hooda