Assembly polls: Congress takes comfortable lead in Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana

As per the latest figures released at around 9.11 am, the grand old party of the country is leading in 54 seats in Haryana. The Bharatiya Janata Party is ahead in 30.

The majority mark for the 90-seat Assembly in Haryana is 46.

In Jammu and Kashmir, where Assembly polls were held after a gap of 10 years, the Congress has taken the lead in 50 seats.

The Bharatiya Janata Party is leading in 27.

The majority mark in the UT is 46.

In the Himalayan UT, the political fate of 873 candidates, including 43 women, will be out on Tuesday.

The counting exercise began at 8 am with postal ballots followed by the counting of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), officials told UNI.

This is the first time the Assembly poll was held in Jammu and Kashmir since the Indian government scrapped Article 370 in 2019.

Security has been heightened in the UT for the counting of votes.

Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) J&K, Pandurang K Pole told UNI that comprehensive security arrangements have been made for the counting and three-tier security cover is in place around counting centres.

Polling was held in the Himalayan UT in three phases.

In  Haryana, the election was held on October 5.

Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, former Chief Minister Bhupendra Singh Hooda, former Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala, and former international wrestler Vinesh Phogat are some of the key candidates who political future will be decided on Tuesday.

Apart from the BJP and the Congress,  the Jannayak Janta Party-Azad Samaj Party alliance, the Indian National Lok Dal-Bahujan Samaj Party alliance, and the Aam Aadmi Party are the other political outfits battling to win seats in the north Indian state.