Bucking anti-incumbency, the ruling BJP 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 Tuesday

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headed for a surprise election victory in Haryana state on Tuesday, reinforcing its popularity in the northern heartland a few months after stumbling in national elections.

BJP leader and CM Nayab Singh Saini defeated Congress's Mewa Singh and won the Ladwa seat by a margin of over 16,000 votes.

The counting of votes began at 8 am at 28 counting centres for the 90 seats of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly which went to polls in three phases - September 18, September 25, and October 1. In Haryana,

The BJP is in the lead in the state of Haryana which borders the capital Delhi, but trails in the federal territories of Jammu and Kashmir, which are seeing their first election results in a decade.

India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) appeared on course for a surprise win on Tuesday in polls in the northern state of Haryana, but was trailing the opposition in the first elections in a decade in troubled Muslim-majority Jammu and Kashmir.

The BJP pulled off a hat trick in Haryana on Tuesday, bettering its 2019 performance to score a majority in the northern state. In Jammu and Kashmir, I.N.D.I.A bloc allies Congress and National Conference looked set to form the Union territory’s first government.

The BJP crossed the majority mark of 46 in the Assembly by leading on 49 seats and maintained its lead, while the Congress was on 35, according to the latest trends available on the Election Commission website.

According to the data, the BJP secured 38.6% of the vote, while the Congress, which was ahead in 36 seats, got 41.3%, as of 10.30am.

The results for the Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir Assembly elections are emerging, revealing significant shifts. In Haryana, early trends indicate a major upset, with the BJP crossing the majority mark of 46 seats.