Jhajjar (Haryana): Voting commenced on Saturday for 90 assembly seats in Haryana amid tight security arrangements, following an intense period of campaigning by major political parties.

Among the early voters was Olympic medalist Manu Bhaker, who cast her vote at a polling station in Jhajjar. Excited about voting for the first time, Manu said, "As the youth of this country, it is our responsibility to vote for the most suitable candidate. Small steps lead to big goals, and it is up to us to choose the right representative. I was excited to cast my first vote."

Further, Manu Bhaker's father Ram Kishan Bhaker expressed his feeling after casting his vote.

"Manu is the brand ambassador and a youth icon for voting. She had to come. We vote in every election. How will our village develop if we do not vote... I would request everyone to come out and vote. It's better to come out today than to curse the government for the next five years..." said Ram Kishan Bhaker.

This election is a high-stakes battle as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is eyeing a third straight term to power in the state, the Congress party is aiming to wrest back power riding on anti-incumbency and issues of farmer protests and wrestler protests.

The key contesting parties in Haryana include the BJP, Congress, and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), as well as the pre-poll alliance between the Indian National Lok Dal-Bahujan Samaj Party (INLD-BSP) and the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP)-Azad Samaj Party (ASP).

According to Haryana's Chief Electoral Officer, Pankaj Agarwal, 2,03,54,350 voters, including 1,07,75,957 males, 95,77,926 females, and 467 third-gender voters, will cast their votes in the Assembly Elections on October 5. A total of 1,031 candidates are contesting across 90 constituencies, and 20,632 polling booths have been set up for the election. 

(With inputs from ANI)