Haryana, which came into existence as a separate state on November 1, 1966 by separating from Punjab, has come to the threshold of elections for the 15th Assembly. The tenure of the current assembly of the state is till November 3 and the Election Commission has geared up to conduct the elections before that. A press conference of the Election Commission is to be held today at 3 pm in which the dates for Haryana elections will be announced. There are a total of 90 seats in the state assembly. At present, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is in power in the state.
How were the results of the last elections?
In the Haryana Assembly elections 2019, BJP emerged as the largest party by winning 40 seats with 36.7 percent vote share. Then Congress had got 28.2 percent votes and the party was at second position with 31 seats. Dushyant Chautala’s Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) won 10 seats with 14.9 percent vote share, while Haryana Lokhit Party won one seat with less than one percent vote share. Seven independents and one other were also successful in reaching the assembly by winning the elections. No party could reach the magic figure of 46 members required for majority.
After the election results, BJP came into active mode and formed the government with the support of JJP, Haryana Lokhit Party and independents. Before the Lok Sabha elections, BJP broke the alliance with JJP and made Naib Singh Saini the CM in place of Manohar Lal Khattar.
How has been the electoral past of Haryana?
After Haryana came into existence as a separate state, elections for the state assembly were held for the first time in 1967. Then votes were cast for 81 seats of the assembly. Congress had won 48 out of 81 seats. At that time, the magic figure required for many was 41 seats. Then 16 independent MLAs had won and Bharatiya Jan Sangh had won 12 seats, Swatantra Party had won three and Republican Party had won two seats. The Congress government was formed under the leadership of Pandit Bhagwat Dayal Sharma, but within a week of government formation, this government fell due to the change of party by a dozen MLAs and currently in the Modi government, the opposition alliance is led by Rao Birendra Singh, father of Minister of State Rao Inderjit Singh. The United Legislative Party government was formed which fell within six months.
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Assembly elections were held in the year 1968 and this time also Congress got 48 seats. Then Congress had not given tickets to two veteran leaders, former CM Bhagwat Dayal Sharma and Devi Lal. Devi Lal was also very active in the party’s campaign and Congress returned to power by winning 48 seats. After the victory of Congress, a tug-of-war started between the two stalwarts for the post of CM. After a week-long tussle to choose a new CM, the party leadership found a middle path and decided that someone from among the MLAs would become the CM. Former CM Sharma raised the name of Om Prabha Jain, Devi Lal raised the name of Banshi Lal. Banshi Lal was made the CM.
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Congress also won in the Haryana elections of 1972. In 1977, Janata Party formed the government under the leadership of Devi Lal by winning 75 seats and Congress was reduced to three seats. In 1982, Congress emerged as the largest party by winning 36 seats but fell short of majority. Lok Dal was second with 31 seats and BJP was third with six seats. Janata Party could win only one seat. In 1987, Lok Dal got the mandate to run the government with a majority of 60 seats, while in 1991, Congress got the mandate to run the government with 51 seats. In the 1996 elections, Haryana Vikas Party emerged as the largest party with 33 seats.
…when Chautala family’s party got absolute majority
In the 2000 Haryana elections, the Chautala family’s party Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) got an absolute majority. INLD came to power by winning 47 seats and Omprakash Chautala became the CM. In 2005, Congress returned to power by winning 67 out of 90 seats and Bhupendra Singh Hooda became the CM. In the 2009 elections, Congress emerged as the largest party by winning 40 seats but fell short of the majority mark. Under the leadership of Bhupendra Singh Hooda, the party formed the government for the second consecutive time.
BJP government formed for the first time in 2014
BJP won for the first time in the elections held in 2014 for Haryana Assembly. BJP formed the government with absolute majority by winning 47 seats. Then INLD was at second position by winning 19 seats and Congress was at third position with 15 seats. Again in 2019, no party could reach the majority mark in Haryana elections and BJP emerged as the largest party with 40 seats. The Congress caravan stopped at 31 seats and the newly formed Jananayak Janata Party (JJP) won 10 seats. Chautala family’s party INLD could win only one seat.
What are the equations this time?
This time, Congress is entering the Haryana elections with high morale after winning five seats in the Lok Sabha elections. Congress MP Deependra Singh Hooda has set out on a padyatra in Haryana demanding accounts, while Naib Singh Saini, who took charge of the government shortly before the elections, is also making new moves every day to help farmers and small groups related to agriculture. Aam Aadmi Party is also preparing to contest elections on every seat with full strength. Dushyant Chautala’s party JJP from the Chautala family has become a big challenge for INLD, which is searching for its lost place in Haryana’s politics.