Counting of votes is underway for the assembly elections in Haryana – where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is eyeing a straight third term – and Jammu and Kashmir, which voted in an assembly election after 10 years. In Haryana, the latest trends show that the BJP is leading in 49 of the 90 assembly seats, while the Congress is ahead in 35. Various exit polls have predicted a clear majority for the Congress in the state.
In Jammu and Kashmir, the available leads show that the alliance of the Congress and the National Conference (NC) is currently leading in 50 seats, four more than the majority mark in the 90-member assembly. The BJP, on the other hand, is ahead in 25, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is leading in five.
Jammu and Kashmir voted in its first assembly elections since 2014, first as a Union Territory and first after the removal of Article 370, which gave the erstwhile state special status. Other parties that can play a key role in J&K, where exit polls have predicted a hung house, are the People's Conference, the Democratic Progressive Azad Party and the Apni Party.
