The ruling BJP in Haryana, which failed to cross the halfway mark of 46 in the 90-member Assembly, will present its case to form the government late Thursday evening, according to IANS.
Incumbent Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar will be meeting Governor Satyadev Narayan Arya to stake claim to form the government. The BJP won 40 seats, but all its state ministers lost, barring two, including Anil Vij and state party chief Subhash Barala.
However, the rival Congress won 31 seats, while less than 12-month-old Jannayak Janata Party (JJP), which broke away from the state's once major regional party Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) owing to family disputes, won 10 seats.
Nine others, comprising independents, have also won.
Haryana is set for a hung Assembly, with no party appearing in a position to cross the halfway mark in the 90-member House. According to the latest trends available with the Election Commission, the ruling BJP won 15 seats and was leading in 23 other constituencies in Haryana, still 8 short of the majority figures. Close on the heels was Congress, winning 12 seats and leading in 21.
Newcomer Jannayak Janata Dal (JJP) was victorious in 5 constituencies and was ahead in 5 others, making it a possible kingmaker, along with 6 Independents, one of whom won and 5 were leading. Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), which ruled the state for four times in the past, was leading in merely 1 seat.
The outcome of the Assembly polls held on October 21 is a setback for the BJP, which had won 47 seats in the last state elections in 2014. The party had been expressing confidence about raising its tally beyond 75 this time, using the nationalist pitch of the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and the Balakot air strike.
The results and the trends come as a shocker for the saffron party, particularly since it had won all the 10 seats in the Lok Sabha elections held just five months back.The BJP had formed the government in Haryana for the first time in 2014, when it improved its tally from 4 in the previous elections.
The Congress, on the other hand, improved its performance substantially in this Assembly elections as it had managed only 15 seats the last time and had failed to open its account in the April-May Lok Sabha elections. The INLD, which ruled the state the last time from 2000 to 2004, stood second with 19 seats in the last Assembly elections and was the main Opposition party in the outgoing House.
With IANS inputs