Nearly seven per cent turnout was recorded till 10 a.m. in Haryana, according to the state’s Chief Electoral Officer, Shrikant Walgad. 1,351 candidates, including 116 women, are contesting on 90 seats in the state. The state has over 1.63 crore voters, including 87.37 lakh women.
Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hood was among the prominent people who cast their vote early this morning.
Voting will continue till 6 p.m.. Counting of votes is on October 19.
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The riveting contest in the two states is being seen as the first major test of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity after the Lok Sabha polls and he had spearheaded the BJP campaign in both the states.
Maharashtra’s established political formations — Shiv Sena-BJP and Cong-NCP — split ahead of the polls and the parties are contesting alone after 15 years. Congress and NCP had ruled the state for 15 years from 1999.
In Haryana too, the BJP junked its allies and is hoping to get majority on its own to dislodge Congress that has been ruling the state for the last 10 years.