BJP’s Sanjay Bhatia and Congress’s Karamvir Singh Boudh were elected to the Rajya Sabha from Haryana after counting went past midnight. The delay came amid complaints from both parties over alleged violations of vote secrecy, officials said on Tuesday.
Officials said five votes were declared invalid, including four from the Congress and one from the BJP.
Bhatia, 58, is a former Lok Sabha MP from Karnal. Boudh, 61, is a retired Haryana government employee and a well-known Dalit activist. He currently serves as coordinator of the Congress’s National Scheduled Castes Department.
Two MLAs from the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) did not vote. This reduced the number of valid votes to 88 in the 90-member Assembly. INLD leaders Abhay Singh Chautala and Aditya Devi Lal said the party chose to abstain, keeping public sentiment in mind.
After both the BJP and Congress complained to the Election Commission about alleged breaches of vote secrecy, the poll body declared Congress MLA Paramvir Singh’s vote invalid.
Bhatia won the first seat comfortably with 39 first-preference votes. For the second seat, Boudh secured 28 votes, while Independent candidate Satish Nandal got 16. Five ballots—four from Congress and one from BJP—were rejected.
Sources said that with five Congress MLAs allegedly cross-voting, Nandal could have matched Boudh’s tally if one more Congress MLA had supported him.
Congratulating the winners, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini said Nandal lost by just one vote. He also claimed that five Congress MLAs cross-voted and four of their votes were rejected.
Responding to questions on cross-voting, Haryana Congress chief Rao Narender Singh said strict action would be taken against those who “betrayed” the party. Congress leader B K Hariprasad also said disciplinary action would be taken against MLAs who cross-voted.
Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda said he would not name those who cross-voted but added that people have understood and will respond to it. He accused the BJP of using all tactics but said the Congress still managed to win one seat.
Chief Minister Saini accused the Congress of not trusting its own MLAs and keeping them in different locations. He was referring to the party shifting its MLAs to Himachal Pradesh ahead of the polls. Congress MLAs had returned to Chandigarh on Monday morning, just hours before voting began. Saini said it was the first time he had seen the Congress show such lack of trust in its own legislators. He added that the party has no future. He also criticised the INLD for abstaining, calling it a “B team” of the Congress. Saini claimed that the INLD indirectly supported the Congress and said it could have backed the Independent candidate instead.
Counting, which was scheduled to begin at 5 pm after voting ended at 4 pm, was delayed by more than five hours due to complaints from both parties.
Hooda said democracy had won and alleged that there were attempts to manipulate votes. He claimed the BJP tried to steal votes for the third candidate. He also alleged that the returning officer did not act in a fair manner.
Boudh thanked the Congress leadership, including Hooda and other state leaders, for his victory.
Earlier, state minister Krishan Kumar Bedi said the BJP had complained about two Congress MLAs allegedly violating vote secrecy rules. Bedi claimed that Bharat Singh Beniwal and Paramvir Singh did not fold their ballots properly, which compromised secrecy.
Congress leader Ashok Arora denied the allegation and said the complaint was raised only after voting ended. He also accused BJP leader Anil Vij of violating vote secrecy. Boudh also filed a complaint against the returning officer, alleging bias.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge wrote to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, raising concerns about interference in the election process. In his letter, Kharge said there was an attempt to affect the integrity of the election and urged immediate action by the Election Commission. He also sought time for a Congress delegation, led by Abhishek Manu Singhvi, to meet the Election Commission before the results were declared.
In the 90-member Haryana Assembly, the BJP has 48 MLAs, the Congress 37, the INLD two, and there are three Independents. The two Rajya Sabha seats became vacant as BJP MPs Kiran Choudhry and Ram Chander Jangra are set to complete their terms on April 9.
Also read: 88 MLAs vote in Haryana RS polls, INLD abstains
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