The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is all set to form government in Haryana as counting enters the last rounds on Tuesday.
The saffron party is ahead in 48 of the 90 assembly seats, two more seats than the majority mark in the house. The Congress trails significantly, with leads on 37 seats.
After the mandate in the BJP's favour, the next set of parleys would be on who would be the chief minister. The party MLAs will meet and chose a leader who would eventually take oath as chief minister along with his cabinet ministers.
Nayab Singh Saini, the Chief Minister of Haryana, is the prime contender. Saini contested the elections from Ladwa seat. Saini replaced Manohal Lal Khattar as Haryana CM in March after the BJP severed ties with the JJP ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections and assembly elections this year.
An OBC leader, Saini BJP Lok Sabha MP from the Kurukshetra constituency in Haryana before becoming the CM.
Last month, Union Minister and BJP's Haryana election in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan virtually ruled out any possibility of change in the chief minister if the saffron party comes to power in the state.
Saini expressed gratitude to the people of Ladwa and the 2.80 crore residents of Haryana, stating that the victory belongs to PM Modi. He emphasised that the people of Haryana have endorsed PM Modi's policies.
"I want to thank the people of Ladwa and the 2.80 crore population of Haryana. The credit for this victory goes to PM Modi. The people of Haryana have put a stamp on the policies of PM Modi..." Saini said.
Former Haryana minister and BJP veteran Anil Vij defeated his nearest rival Chitra Sarwara, an independent candidate, by 7,277 votes in Ambala Cantonment assembly constituency. Vij, had earlier expressed his wish to be the Cheif Minister.
Vij told journalists that given his seniority in the party, people across the state have been extending support to him to become the chief minister.
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