Haryana 6th phase LS polls: CM Khattar among early voters in Karnal

Polling began Sunday morning in ten constituencies of Haryana in the sixth phase of Lok Sabha elections, which will seal the fate of 223 candidates, including Union ministers Rao Inderjit Singh and Krishan Pal Gurjar. Polling began at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm in the 10 parliamentary constituencies, officials said.

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar was among the early voters in Karnal. Haryana's Joint Chief Electoral Officer Inder Jeet said over 1.80 crore people are eligible to vote in the state. Of them, 97,16,516 are male, 83,40,173 female and 207 transgenders. Over one lakh of the total voters are physically challenged and special facilities have been provided for them, he said. Altogether, 223 candidates, just 11 of them women, are in the fray. Prominent among them are Union ministers of state Rao Inderjit Singh from Gurgaon and Krishan Pal Gurjar from Faridabad. Both of them are seeking re-election.

Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, a sitting Congress MLA from Rohtak district, is again trying his luck to enter the Lower House of Parliament, but this time from Sonipat. Earlier, Hooda had been elected four times from the Rohak parliamentary constituency. His son, Deepender, is seeking re-election for the fourth term from Rohtak as a Congress nominee. Union minister Birender Singh's son Brijendra Singh (BJP) and former chief minister Bhajan Lal's grandson Bhavya Bishnoi (Congress), both political greenhorns, are contesting from the Hisar Lok Sabha seat, where they face sitting MP and leader of the newly-floated JJP, Dushyant Chautala. Dushyant is the grandson of former chief minister O P Chautala.

Former Union minister Kumari Selja and state Congress chief Ashok Tanwar are fighting from Ambala and Sirsa, respectively, for the party. Aam Aadmi Party state president Naveen Jaihind is contesting from Faridabad. Among the major parties in the fight are the BJP, the Congress and the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), which are fighting the 10 seats independently. The Jannayak Janata Party (JJP), which was formed after a split in the INLD six months ago, is contesting on seven seats, while the remaining three seats are being fought by its ally the AAP. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is fighting on eight, leaving two for its ally Loktantra Suraksha Party floated by rebel BJP MP Raj Kumar Saini.

In the 2014 parliamentary polls, the BJP contested eight seats and won seven. Its then ally Haryana Janhit Congress had fought on two seats, losing both. The INLD won two seats and the Congress could retain only the Rohtak seat last time. As many as three lakh electors are in the age group of 18-19 years, 38.96 lakh are in the age group of 20-29 years, 44.38 lakh voters are aged between 30 and 39 years and 4.27 lakh people are aged above 80 years of age, officials said. As many as 20,428 voters' birthday falls on May 12.

The officials said that necessary arrangements, including those pertaining to security, have been put in place to ensure smooth conduct of polling. The joint chief electoral officer said that 19,441 polling stations have been set up in the state, including 5,510 in urban areas and 13,931 in rural areas. Webcasting will be done in 1,020 polling booths. Haryana Director General of Police Manoj Yadava said 67,000 security personnel have been mobilised to ensure smooth conduct of the polls.

(With inputs from agencies.)