Bhopal
With the close of electioneering in Haryana and J&K—both assemblies have 90 seats each
—
—a poll of exit polls, conducted by NDTV, says that J&K will have a hung assembly and Congress will emerge victorious in Haryana.
If the poll results hold on counting day, the Haryana loss will come as a jolt for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, as the party had rallied hard to beat anti-incumbency and extract a third consecutive victory in the state.
In J&K political maneuvering is said to have started soon after the exit polls showed that the state was headed for a hung verdict. Strong rumours said that the National Conference (NC) is in backchannel talks with the BJP but the NC was quick in issuing a categoric denial.
Counting for the two states will commence on the morning of October 8, and the situation will become clear around 12PM. Going by how often exit polls have gone wrong in reading the verdict, all parties have decided to wait for the final results.
