Published 12:12 IST, October 24th 2019
Congress lines open; Sonia Gandhi, BS Hooda, Maharashtra netas confer
Sonia Gandhi has spoken to leaders of the Maharashtra Congress, as well as to former Haryana CM BS Hooda amid the assembly election results in the states
Even as counting is underway for the assembly elections in Haryana and Maharashtra, sources said that interim Congress president Sonia Gandhi has spoken to Bhupinder Singh Hooda as well as the party's Maharashtra leadership. Visuals on Republic TV also show deep discussion between Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda and his son Deepinder Hooda. As per sources, Bhupinder Singh Hooda has made overtures to Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) chief Dushyant Chautala, who, as per inputs, has demanded the Chief Ministerial post if his party were to ally with the Congress. However, Dushyant Chautala, while speaking to Republic TV earlier in the day, has said that he will make the decision on post-poll alliance after the final verdict is out.
Trends till 12.20 PM for Haryana
Meanwhile, the suspense continues in Haryana as trends come in. At 12.20PM, BJP once again edges towards halfway mark. While Congress trail behind.
Haryana elections overview
As polling was concluded in Haryana on October 21, the Election Commission in its press briefing said that the final turnout was recorded as 65%. As per EC, the state had 19,578 polling stations for 1.83 crore voters, including 85 lakh women and 252 transgenders. While the BJP is eyeing at a second term under Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, the Congress wants a comeback in the state. The campaigning by the BJP focused on the abrogation of Article 370 and the corruption-free image of Khattar, while the Congress highlighted the law and order problems during Khattar's tenure. However, Congress had to face a huge setback as its former chief Ashok Tanwar resigned ahead of polls. Adding to the embarrassment, a video of Congress leader Bhupinder Hooda, Ahmed Patel, and Ghulam Nabi Azad went viral in which they said the party would barely win 10-12 seats.
Updated 15:18 IST, October 24th 2019