The polling in all the 10 Lok Sabha Constituencies in Haryana and for the Karnal Assembly by-poll will be held on Saturday in which about 2 crore voters will decide the fate of 223 candidates, including big guns like former Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, senior Congress leaders Kumari Selja, Deepender Hooda and Raj Babbar among others.
Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini is contesting the Karnal by-election. The voting will be held from 7 am to 6 pm. According to State Election officials, a total of 2,00,76,786 registered voters of Haryana will exercise their vote at 20,031 polling stations in the State. A total of 223 candidates—207 men and 16 women—are in the fray in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha polls in the State. In the last Lok Sabha Election, the BJP had won all 10 Lok Sabha seats in the State.
Haryana is witnessing a direct fight between the ruling BJP and Opposition Congress on almost all the Lok Sabha Seats. However, Lok Sabha Constituencies like Hisar and Kurukshetra are witnessing a multi-cornered contest.
Union Ministers Rao Inderjit Singh and Krishan Pal Gurjar, former Chief Minister Manohar Lal and Congress heavyweights Kumari Selja, Raj Babbar and Deepender Singh Hooda are contesting the Lok Sabha elections in the State. Khattar, the BJP candidate from Karnal, is facing Haryana Youth Congress president Divyanshu Budhiraja. From Hisar, Ranjit Singh Chautala, an Independent MLA who joined the BJP ahead of the polls, is pitted against two members of the Chautala clan—JJP’s Naina Chautala and INLD’s Sunaina Chautala. Congress’ Jai Prakash is also in the fray.
The BJP has fielded industrialist and former Congress MP Naveen Jindal from Kurukshetra. He is facing AAP’s state unit chief Sushil Gupta and INLD’s Abhay Singh Chautala. Union Minister Inderjit Singh and Krishan Pal Gurjar are seeking re-election from Gurugram and Faridabad seats, respectively. The Congress has fielded its senior leaders Raj Babbar and Mahendra Pratap Singh from Gurugram and Faridabad respectively.
Congress’ Kumari Selja and BJP’s Ashok Tanwar are contesting from Sirsa. In Rohtak, Deepender Singh Hooda is up against BJP’s Arvind Sharma. In Ambala, Congress candidate Varun Chaudhry and BJP’s Banto Katara are contesting. BJP has fielded sitting MLA Mohan Lal Badoli against Congress candidate Satpal Brahmachari in Sonepat Lok Sabha Constituency. BJP’s Chaudhary Dharambir Singh, Congress’ sitting MLA Rao Dan Singh and JJP’s Rao Bahadur Singh are contesting election from Bhiwani Mahendragarh.
Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), NCP (Sharad Pawar) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) have also fielded their candidates in the Lok Sabha polls. JJP’s 10, BSP’s nine and INLD’s seven candidates and NCP (Sharad Pawar)’s one are contesting the polls. Some sitting MLAs are also in the fray, including INLD’s Kurukshetra candidate Abhay Singh Chautala. Congress’ sitting MLAs Varun Chaudhary and Rao Dan Singh are contesting from Ambala and Bhiwani-Mahendragarh seats, respectively. BJP MLA Mohan Lal Badoli is contesting from Sonipat and JJP’s Naina Chautala from Hisar. Saini, who is also the state BJP chief and the sitting Kurukshetra MP, was sworn in as the chief minister on March 12, replacing Khattar. He is contesting the Karnal assembly bypoll. There are nine candidates in the fray for the bypoll which was necessitated by Khattar’s resignation as MLA.
Elaborate arrangements made for peaceful Lok Sabha Election: CEO
Haryana Chief Electoral Officer Anurag Agarwal said that the polling parties in the state departed for their respective polling stations on Friday. Elaborate arrangements have been made for smooth election in the State. All basic facilities and other necessary arrangements have also been made in view of the heat wave in all the polling stations. The returning officers, more than 96,000 officers and employees (except security forces) have been deployed on duty in the polling stations. Besides this, flying squads, observers along with micro observers will be present at different polling stations, he added. A total of 20,031 polling stations have been set up in the state. These include 19,812 permanent and 219 auxiliary polling stations. 5,470 polling stations have been set up in urban areas and 14,342 polling stations have been set up in rural areas. A total of 45,576 EVMs will be used in the state for the Lok Sabha elections and the assembly bypoll. Along with this, 24,039 control units and 26,040 VVPAT machines will be used, Agarwal said. The Chief Electoral Officer informed that 176 model polling stations have been established. There are 99 polling stations which will be operated entirely by women staff. Apart from this, 96 polling stations manned by youth employees, and 71 polling stations manned by Person with Disability (PwD) employees.
Agarwal said that on the day of voting, school children should also actively participate in this festival of democracy, for this a unique initiative has also been taken, in which school children will be rewarded with cash prizes. Under this initiative, children will be encouraged to motivate their parents to vote, and on voting day, they will be required to upload a selfie of their family members after the voting. At the district level, cash prizes of Rs 10,000, Rs 5,000, and Rs 2,500 will be awarded to the first, second, and third winners by conducting a draw of lots.
He said that under this initiative, the school having the maximum number of selfies uploaded by their students will also be awarded a special prize of Rs 25,000. A link has been developed on the https://www.ceoharyana.gov.in/ portal for uploading selfies, which will be available on the voting day, i.e., May 25. The link for uploading selfies will be open for school children along with voting from 7 AM, and selfies can be uploaded until 8 PM.
For Lok Sabha Election, State Police on high alert at inter-state and intra-state borders & district checkpoints: DGP
Haryana Director General of Police Shatrujeet Kapur on Friday said that the state police have been put on high alert for any anti-social elements spreading rumors on social media. Strict action will be taken against offenders, who will face severe legal consequences, he added. To maintain peace and law and order during the voting process, a foolproof sealing plan has been implemented at inter-state and intra-state borders and district checkpoints. More than 35,000 police personnel and 112 companies of paramilitary forces have been deployed to ensure smooth conduct of elections. Additionally, more than 24,000 home guards have been strategically stationed throughout the region to maintain law and order. A total of 418 flying squads, 415 static surveillance teams, 34 quick response teams and 1,039 patrolling parties have also been deployed, he said. Additionally, the movement of liquor, weapons, cash, and other materials that could influence voting is prohibited in the state. The movement of history-sheeters, mischievous elements, and disruptive anti-social elements is being closely monitored. Efforts are being made to ensure a peaceful election process by coordinating with the administrations of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Delhi. Police teams across the state are patrolling day and night, DGP added.
Kapur further said that during the voting process, all additional Directors General of Police, Inspectors General of Police, Police Commissioners, and Superintendents of Police will be in the field. They will patrol their respective areas from the start to the end of voting to ensure the process is not disrupted. Senior police officers have been instructed to keep the Director General of Police and the Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) informed about the voting process and directives through phone, SMS, and WhatsApp messages.
During a meeting with the senior police officers, Kapur emphasized that disrupting law and order will not be tolerated. Kapur pointed out that mischievous elements sometimes make fake videos of polling stations viral on social media, causing disruptions. To counter this, Police teams will actively monitor social media at various levels and take strict action against those posting fake videos. Kapur appealed to the public not to share such videos on their social media accounts. He urged that if anyone sees such videos circulating, they should inform Haryana Police via helpline number 112 or the control room helpline number 0172-2570070.
