Bucking anti-incumbency, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party pulled off a hat-trick of wins in Haryana to retain power and halt Congress' comeback attempt in the assembly elections, results of which were announced on Tuesday.
While the BJP ended up with its best-ever haul of 48 seats, 11 more than the Congress, parties like the Jannayak Janata Party and the Aam Aadmi Party were decimated and the Indian National Lok Dal managed to win just two seats.
Proving wrong exit polls which predicted a comfortable Congress win, the BJP will be forming government in Haryana for the third consecutive term.
The party had contested 89 of the 90 seats. It did not contest Sirsa seat, from where its ally Gopal Kanda was a sitting MLA, though Kanda lost his seat.
The Congress also contested 89 seats leaving Bhiwani constituency for the Communist Party of India-Marxist.
Three Independents also tasted win.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the win saying it was due to good-governance that all communities voted for the BJP.
Our guarantee of 'vikas' prevailed over the pack of lies spread by the Congress and people wrote new history electing us for a third term, he told party cadres in Delhi.
"Once the people throw out Congress, they do not let it come back. They put 'no entry' boards for Congress... it is a party that always thought power was its birthright," the prime minister said.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge termed the Haryana results "unexpected" and said his party will assess the people's mandate.
Among prominent candidates who won included Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini (Ladwa), Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda (Garhi Sampla-Kiloi), BJP's Anil Vij (Ambala Cantt), Shruti Choudhry (Tosham), INLD's Arjun Chautala (Rania) and Aditya Devi Lal (Dabwali), Congress' Vinesh Phogat (Julana), Aditya Surjewala (Kaithal), Geeta Bhukkal (Jhajjar), BJP's Arti Singh Rao (Ateli) and Independent candidate Savitri Jindal (Hisar).
Those who lost included INLD's Abhay Singh Chautala (Ellenabad), JJP's Dushyant Chautala and Digvijay Chautala (Dabwali), Speaker in outgoing Assembly and BJP's Gian Chand Gupta, Congress's Brijendra Singh, Aam Aadmi Party's Anurag Dhanda (Kalayat), BJP's O P Dhankar (Badli), Capt Abhimanyu (Narnaund), Haryana Lokhit Party's Gopal Kanda (Sirsa) and Ranjit Chautala, an Independent (Rania).
Haryana Congress president Udai Bhan and BJP's Bhavya Bishnoi, son of Kuldeep Bishnoi and grandson of former chief minister Bhajan Lal, also lost.
Haryana went to polls on October 5 in a single phase.
In the outgoing assembly, the BJP had 41 MLAs (including the Adampur seat won in 2022 bypoll), the Congress 28 MLAs, the JJP (6), while the Haryana Lokhit Party and Indian National Lok Dal one member each. There were four Independents, while nine seats were vacant.
A total of 1,031 candidates, including 464 Independents and 101 women, were in the fray this time.
Thanking the voters while speaking to reporters, Haryana Chief Minister Saini said people have 'put a stamp' on the government's policies under the leadership of Modi.
Senior Congress leader Hooda said the poll outcome was opposite to what the atmosphere in the state was.
"The results have left us 'achambhit' (stunned) and the BJP must also be 'achambhit'. These results are opposite to what the atmosphere was in the state," he said.
Bringing Saini, a OBC face, to replace Manohar Lal Khattar as chief minister in March appeared to have worked to the advantage of the BJP.
During campaigning, the BJP had targeted the Congress with the 'kharchi-parchi' (bribery and favouritism) in government jobs during Hooda's 10-year dispensation.
It also promised 2 lakh government jobs for youths without 'kharchi-parchi'.
The ruling party highlighted providing MSP on 24 crops in Haryana, claiming that it was the first state in the country to do so.
In its poll promises, the BJP promised Rs 2,100 per month to women under the Lado Lakshmi Yojna and also announced to give a cooking gas cylinder at Rs 500 under the Har Ghar Grihni Yojna, appeared to have worked.
When Saini took over as chief minister, the ruling BJP in Haryana was facing anti-incumbency as it had been in power for nine-and-a-half years.
The BJP created history in 2014 when it came to power for the first time in Haryana, winning 47 seats.
Announcing Saini as the chief ministerial face for the state assembly polls, the BJP was looking to consolidate non-Jat votes in Haryana where caste equations play a key role in the electoral success of a political party.
The BJP's consistent attack on the Congress over the Dalit issue also appeared to have found resonance among voters.
Modi in his poll speeches went acerbic and called the Congress the biggest "anti-Dalit" party and also reminded voters about the 2005 Gohana and 2010 Mirchpur incidents.
Notably, in the Gohana incident, a few homes of Dalits were set on fire after a Dalit in the village was suspected of being involved in a murder.
In the Mirchpur incident, on April 21, 2010, a group of villagers had allegedly torched more than a dozen houses belonging to Dalits. A teenage girl and her father were charred to death in the incident.
The BJP also targeted the Congress over its alleged infighting with Home Minister Amit Shah accusing the grand old party of insulting Dalit leaders like Kumari Selja.
The counting of votes began at 8 am amid tight security. Several exit polls had predicted a comfortable victory for the Congress in Haryana but the BJP consolidated as the counting progressed.
As the BJP won for a third consecutive term, party workers and leaders were in a jubilant lot, distributing 'ladoos' and sweets with many dancing to the beats of 'dhols'.
In sharp contrast, the mood in the Congress camp, which had witnessed brief celebrations by workers in the morning after some TV channels put the grand old party ahead in early trends, changed as the day progressed as it became clear the trends were not holding and several exit polls had also been proved wrong.
