Representative image for voting.
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Haryana is gearing up for its assembly elections on October 5, with counting scheduled to take place on October 8. 90 members will be elected to Haryana's Legislative Assembly.
With the elections just around the corner, let's take a look into Haryana's political history and how the assembly came into being.
Haryana's political history
Haryana's political history is entwined with that of Punjab and to some extent Himachal Pradesh, for both the states were once, originally a part of Punjab.
However, after the Punjab Reorganisation Act of 1966, the state of Punjab was bifurcated and Haryana and Himachal Pradesh were carved out.
India recognises the union territory of Chandigarh as the capital of both Punjab and Haryana. Thus, the union territory serves as the seat for both Punjab and Haryana's legislative assemblies.
Haryana is a unicameral legislature made up of 90 legislative assembly members. It is also known as Vidhan Sabha or Haryana Legislative Assembly.
First Haryana assembly elections
Elections for Haryana's first legislative assembly were held in 1967. Congress's Bhagwat Dayal Sharma was elected as the chief minister with the party earning 48 out of 81 seats. But this government wasn't a stable one for stalwarts like Devi Lal, Birender Singh and Siri Chand crossed the floor along with 10 other MLAs leading to the collapse of Dayal's government.
Downfall of Bhagwat Dayal Sharma's government made way for Vishal Haryana Party's Birender Singh. He was appointed as the chief minister of the state but he too had to resign soon when he didn't get support from Devi Lal.
This unstable politics led to collapse of Singh's government and imposition of President's rule in the state on the governor's recommendation.
The next assembly elections were held in 1968 and Congress' Bansi Lal was appointed as the Chief Minister of Haryana.
The need for India's Anti-defection law can be traced back to Haryana, for this state was known for its political instability, defections and factionalism.
Prior to President's rule in the state, an MLA named Gaya Lal elected from Pataudi, deflected four times in a single day. This led Birender Singh to coin the term, "Aaya Ram Gaya Ram".
Later under Rajiv Gandhi's tenure, the Anti-defection law was brought in to quell frequent defections among legislators.