High-Stakes Rajya Sabha Elections in Haryana: BJP and Congress Each Claim Victory
Election Results and Controversies
Chandigarh: In a dramatic turn of events during the Rajya Sabha elections in Haryana, the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress each secured one seat amidst allegations of vote secrecy breaches and cross-voting.
BJP's Sanjay Bhatia and Congress's Karamvir Boudh emerged victorious, while the Independent candidate supported by the BJP, Satish Nandal, faced defeat. A total of 88 legislators participated in the voting process, with two members from the Indian National Lok Dal, Arjun Chautala and Aditya Devilal, opting out.
The Haryana Assembly consists of 90 members, with the BJP holding 48 seats, Congress 37, INLD 2, and Independents 3.
As the counting wrapped up at 4 p.m. on Monday, both parties claimed success for their candidates. However, the vote counting was delayed until late at night following approval from the Election Commission of India.
Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress President and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, reached out to the Chief Election Commissioner, alleging interference in the election's integrity and requested a meeting with a party delegation prior to the results announcement. The BJP countered these claims, accusing two Congress legislators, Paramvir Singh and Bharat Singh Beniwal, of breaching voting confidentiality.
The Congress party pointed fingers at Transport Minister Anil Vij for the alleged violations.
Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini was the first to cast his vote. Bhupinder Singh Hooda, the Leader of Opposition and former Chief Minister, expressed confidence that his party's candidate would win one of the two available seats.
"This is our victory," he stated to the media. To prevent cross-voting, the Congress relocated its MLAs to resorts in Himachal Pradesh, although six did not attend for personal reasons. On Sunday night, 31 legislators were moved from Shimla to Kasauli, escorted by party general secretary B.K. Hariprasad and Rohtak MP Deepender Hooda, and were transported securely to Chandigarh on Monday morning.
The two Rajya Sabha seats became available as BJP members Kiran Choudhry and Ram Chander Jangra are nearing the end of their terms on April 9.
Historically, there have been instances of vote cancellations in previous Rajya Sabha elections that impacted outcomes. In 2016, 14 Congress MLAs had their votes invalidated due to the use of non-approved pens, allowing Independent candidate Subhash Chandra, backed by the BJP, to win. Similarly, in 2022, one Congress MLA's vote was declared invalid, leading to Ajay Maken's defeat against BJP-supported Independent candidate Kartikeya Sharma.