Post a neck-to-neck contest in Haryana, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has won a total of 39 seats, taking over the Congress, although the saffron party is still short of halfway mark in the 90-member state assembly.
According to the Election Commission, the BJP has won 39 seats, while Congress has won 31. The Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), which was formed just 11 months ago, has bagged 10 seats.
With this, Dushyant Chautala-led JJP is expected to play the role of kingmaker. While there has been no official announcement, the sources told that the JJP would support the BJP to form the next government in Haryana.
Independent candidates have won seven seats, while the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) has won one seat -- Ellanabad from where its leader Abhay Singh Chautala got elected.
The results of the Haryana Assembly election dealt a severe blow to the INLD, founded by former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal, which slumped to its worst performance ever in the polls.
Barring Abhay Singh Chautala, over 80 candidates of the party had to bite the dust. Days before voting, the INLD had stitched up an alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) but failed to win any of the three seats it contested.
The BJP, which is six seats short of a majority, is also likely to seek the support of the independents for the formation of government while also keeping the communication channels open with the JJP, which has won 10 seats.
Also Read: All you need to know about the Kingmaker of Haryana JJP President Dushyant Chautala
According to sources, two of the eight Independent candidates, who registered a victory in the Haryana Assembly election, were taken to Delhi by a BJP MP. Independents Gopal Kanda and Ranjeet Singh were taken to Delhi by a chartered plane by Sirsa MP Sunita Duggal.
On being asked about the development, Duggal refused to comment and dismissed the reports, saying it was an internal matter of the BJP.
Meanwhile, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar sought a meeting with the Haryana Governor to stake a claim to form the next government in the state.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah addressed the gathering of the party workers at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi and expressed their gratitude to the people of Haryana for reposing their faith in the BJP yet again.
"I thank the people of Haryana for blessing us. We will continue to work with the same zeal and dedication to the state's progress. I laud the efforts of hardworking BJP Haryana Karyakartas who toiled extensively and went among the people to elaborate on our development agenda," PM said.
Meanwhile, the Congress addressed a press conference and dubbed Haryana assembly election result as "a moral defeat for the BJP" by saying that the Central leadership of the ruling party was clueless about the ground reality in the state.
"We accept the people's mandate humbly and respectfully. We also want to say that it is a moral defeat for the Bharatiya Janata Party. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit Shah and their entire leadership were cut off from the ground reality," Congress leader Anand Sharma said.
Refuting BJP president Amit Shah's claim about Haryana, Anand Sharma said, "In Haryana, they had a lead on 79 seats during the Lok Sabha election. They have lost the majority today. We did not agree with Amit Shahji's statement that the BJP has won there. Khattar has not got the majority. That is why our leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda has called upon all the Non-BJP parties to hold talks about forming the government."