New Delhi:
Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij won from his stronghold Ambala Cantonment seat defeating his nearest rival Chitra Sarwara, an Independent candidate. Vij, a senior BJP leader and five-time MLA from the constituency, defeated Sarwara by a margin of 20,165 votes, according to the result declared by the Election Commission.
In Haryana, where BJP leader Manohar Lal Khattar is seeking a return to power, it looked like a hung assembly with no clear winners. The BJP was leading in 38 of the 90 seats and the Congress in 32.
In an electoral contest with no clear winner, Dushyant Chautala could well emerge kingmaker with his Jannayak Janta Party leading in 10 seats. The INLD was leading in two, Independents in six and the BSP in one.
Taking a swipe at the Bharatiya Janata Party's "Mission 75", Chautala said it would fall way short of its target of winning 75 seats.
Declaring that his party will hold the key to formation of the next dispensation, he told reporters, "People of Haryana want change."
Asked which party the JJP would support, he said, "It's too early to say anything. We will first summon a meeting of our MLAs, decide who would be our leader in the House and then take it further."
The people of Haryana had rejected the ruling BJP and was ready to "embrace a new dawn of justice", state Congress chief Kumari Selja said.
(With PTI inputs)
