Haryana Assembly Elections: A Detailed Overview

Haryana's Chief Electoral Officer, Pankaj Agarwal, announced that 1,561 candidates have filed nominations for the October 5 Assembly elections. The scrutiny of papers was conducted on Friday, and the final list of candidates will be published after September 16. The ruling BJP faces a stiff challenge from opposition parties, including Congress.

Haryana's Chief Electoral Officer, Pankaj Agarwal, reported that 1,561 candidates from various parties and Independents have filed their nomination papers for the state assembly elections set for October 5.

The Bhiwani constituency leads with 31 candidates, while Nangal Chaudhary has the fewest with nine contenders. Scrutiny of the nominations was conducted on Friday, with the deadline for withdrawals set for September 16. After this, the final candidate list will be released.

Key constituencies to watch include Ladwa, where Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini is running, and Julana in Jind district, featuring a high-profile contest between wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, Kavita Dalal, and pilot Yogesh Bairagi. In Uchana Kalan, former Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala faces Brijendra Singh from Congress.

In the last assembly elections, 961 candidates contested, down from 1351 in 2014. With voting on October 5 and counting on October 8, the ruling BJP aims for a third term but faces significant competition from Congress and other opposition parties.

(With inputs from agencies.)