Assembly Polls LIVE: Congress holds press conference on poll results

The party is also leading from one more constituency

At a press conference held at the Congress headquarters in Delhi, leaders Jairam Ramesh and Pawan Khera expressed shock at the apparent results, calling them "unacceptable", and said the party was consolidating its complaints to the ECI.

The Congress had already flagged concerns about the counting and updating of information on the ECI website earlier in the day and been dismissed.

The party is calling the Haryana results a win for the system rather than for democracy, and noted odd 'coincidences' with the EVMs.

Seven independent candidates have emerged victorious in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls, marking an increase from the 2014 elections when three such candidates had won.

Satesh Sharma, 42, son of two-time MP and former Congress minister Madan Lal Sharma, contested as an independent from the Chhamb seat of the Jammu region and has defeated BJP candidate Rajeev Sharma with a margin of 6,929 votes, having polled a total of 33,985 votes.

In Inderwal, independent candidate Payare Lal Sharma defeated veteran leader Gulam Mohammad Saroori by a narrow margin of 643 votes. Saroori had previously won this seat twice.

In Bani, independent candidate Dr Rameshwar Singh defeated BJP nominee and former MLA Jewan Lal by 2,048 votes. 

Former Olympian wrestler-turned-politician Vinesh Phogat secured a significant victory in the Julana constituency on Tuesday, winning by over 6,000 votes. Phogat's win is historic, as the Congress reclaimed the seat after 19 years, having last won it in 2005.

Meanwhile, the ruling BJP has crossed the majority mark in the Haryana Assembly, leading in 49 seats, while the Congress trails with leads in 35, according to the latest trends from the Election Commission website.

Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh and Pawan Khera have accused the BJP of manipulating election data in the Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls. They allege discrepancies in the Election Commission’s reporting, claiming that outdated trends and counted rounds are being released due to pressure from the BJP.

As vote counting progresses in both states, Ramesh and Khera voiced concerns over delays in updating election trends, suggesting that the BJP is influencing the administration by using outdated data.

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh questioned the Election Commission of India's (ECI) role in updating the results, raising concerns about whether the BJP had pressured the ECI into publishing misleading data.

As early trends emerge, Jammu and Kashmir appears to be leaning towards a Congress-National Conference alliance victory, while Haryana is shaping up to be a tightly contested battleground. The BJP, aiming for a third term, is locked in a tough fight with the Congress, according to trends. In Jammu and Kashmir, where elections were held after a decade, National Conference-Congress alliance is poised to form the government, as Independents and smaller parties, often considered BJP allies, fail to gain significant ground. This was also the first assembly poll after the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019. NC-Congress alliance was leading on 48 seats. In Haryana, it's a tense, back-and-forth race, with leads shifting between Congress and BJP. At present, the BJP holds 46 seats, with the Congress close behind at 40.

Sharing reactions on the Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir assembly elections, Congress leader Pawan Khera said, "We are fully confident that we will be celebrating with sweets like laddoos and jalebis all day today. We even plan to send some jalebis to Prime Minister Modi. We are certain that we will form the government with a majority in both Jammu & Kashmir and Haryana."

INLD is leading on three seats, and independent candidates are ahead on eight seats as votes are being counted for the the 90 assembly seats in Haryana

Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini was leading from his Ladwa seta in Kurukshetra district, while Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda was ahead of his rivals in Garhi Sampla-Kiloi constituency in Rohtak district.

Aditya Surjewala, the Congress candidate from Kaithal, Haryana aserted that the Congress party will win around 60 seats and BJP will come down to 15 seats, as no other party will win any other seats.

"We have kept 7 promises and it has touched the hearts of people. Because of BJP, inflation has risen so much that it has become so difficult to run a household," Surjewala told media outside the counting center.

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.

Both states have 90 seats each, making 46 the majority mark. But in Jammu and Kashmir, the Lieutenant Governor's power to nominate five more members to the assembly has raised concern