Assembly poll results LIVE | BJP looks at hat-trick in Haryana; Cong-NC firm up lead in J&K
Leading candidates in Haryana
Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini is leading in Ladwa in Kurukshetra district by a margin of 732 votes.
Former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda is leading from his Garhi Sampla-Kiloi seat in Rohtak district by a margin of 11,099 votes.
Congress' Vinesh Phogat is leading from Julana seat in Jind by a margin of 214 votes.
Sea-saw battle in Haryana, BJP now ahead of Cong
The ruling BJP and the Congress are now engaged in a sea-saw battle in Haryana as the Election Commission website showed the saffron party was just ahead of the Congress after about two hours of counting of votes on Tuesday.
According to EC trends available at 10 am, the BJP was leading in 43 seats and the Congress on 34, the first time the ruling party overtook the Congress after counting began at 8 am.
The counting of votes for all the 90 assembly seats began at 93 centres in 22 districts of the state amid tight security.
While the BJP is looking to retain power for a third consecutive term, the Congress is eyeing a comeback in Haryana after 10 years.
According to the latest EC trends, INLD and Independents were ahead on one seat each.
Earlier trends on the ECI website showed the Congress was leading on 18 seats while the BJP was ahead on 14 seats.
Haryana: State Cong chief Udai Bhan leads from Hodal
Haryana Congress chief Udai Bhan is leading from the Hodal assembly seat in the state. According to EC, Bhan was leading by a margin of 1,919 votes from his nearest rival and BJP nominee Harinder Singh.
Haryana: Savitri Jindal leading from Hisar
Independent candidate Savitri Jindal is leading from the Hisar assembly seat in Haryana, according to Election Commission trends.
Jindal, who is the mother of BJP's Kurukshetra MP Naveen Jindal, is leading by a margin of 3,836 votes from Congress candidate Ram Niwas Rara. BJP candidate and outgoing MLA Kamal Gupta was at the third spot.
J&K: NC-Cong alliance ahead in 46 seats
The National Conference-Congress alliance has taken lead on 46 seats in Jammu and Kashmir, while the BJP is leading on 23 seats, according to initial trends.
Trends uploaded by the Election Commission showed that the PDP was ahead in three seats in the Union territory while the Independents are leading on eight seats.
The National Conference was leading in 39 seats while its ally Congress was ahead in seven seats, according to trends uploaded by the Election Commission for 64 of the 90 seats.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), CPI(M), Peoples Conference and Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) are also leading on one seat each.
Prominent among those who leading are National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah leading on both the seats, Pradesh Congress president Tariq Hameed Karra, AICC general secretary Ghulam Ahmad Mir, CPI(M) leader M Y Tarigami and BJP’s former minister Sham Lal Sharma and Devender Singh Rana.
However, J&K BJP president Ravinder Raina is trailing by 2,797 votes to his nearest National Conference rival Surinder Choudhary from Nowshera constituency.
J&K: Omar Abdullah leading in Budgam, Ganderbal
National Conference leader Omar Abdullah is leading on both Budgam and Ganderbal seats, while Iltija Mufti of the PDP is trailing from Srigufwara-Biejbehara seat, according to initial trends.
People's Conference president Sajad Lone, who is also contesting from two seats, is leading in Handwara seat by a slender margin of 390 votes, while trailing in Kupwara segment, according to Election Commission trends for Jammu and Kashmir.
In Budgam, Abdullah is leading by 1,400 votes while he is leading by 622 votes in Ganderbal. Iltija Mufti, the daughter of PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, is trailing by more than 1,842 votes against NC's Bashir Ahmad Veeri.
Haryana CM Nayab Saini leading by 732 votes
Haryana Chief Minister and BJP candidate Nayab Singh Saini is leading from the Ladwa assembly seat against his nearest rival and Congress nominee Mewa Singh, according to the Election Commission.
Saini was leading by 732 votes, as per the early trends.