Counting of votes for Assembly polls begins in Haryana amid high security

The counting of votes polled in the October 5 assembly elections in Haryana began at 8 am on Tuesday amid tight security arrangements.

Officials said early trends were expected at some time.

Haryana's Chief Electoral Officer Pankaj Agarwal said three-tier security arrangements were in place at counting venues,

Postal ballots will be counted first, followed by the counting of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) after 30 minutes, he said.

Several exit polls have predicted a Congress victory in Haryana which recorded a voter turnout of 67.90 per cent. However, the BJP has claimed it will return to power for a third consecutive term in Haryana.

The key parties in the fray are the BJP, the Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party, INLD-BSP and JJP-Azad Samaj Party. However, most seats will see a direct fight between the BJP and the Congress.

A total of 1,031 candidates, including 464 Independents and 101 women, are in the fray on Haryana's 90 constituencies which voted in a single phase on October