Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Karamvir Singh Boudh, who was elected to the Haryana Lok Sabha
New Delhi: congress accusation tuesday bjp There are attempts to “vote for Chauri” and “murder democracy” in the Haryana Union Assembly elections, even as the party claims to take “sternest possible action” against its own MLAs suspected of cross-voting.The onslaught came hours after a high-profile, dramatic Rajya Sabha contest ended just after midnight in Haryana state, with the BJP and Congress winning one seat each after allegations of breach of vote secrecy, invalid ballots and cross-voting disrupted the election.
After tense overnight counting, the BJP and Congress have one seat each
Sanjay Bhatia of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Karamveer Singh Budde of the Congress Party were elected to the Haryana federal assembly.Bhatia, a former Lok Sabha member from Karnal, easily won the first seat with 39 first preference votes. Budde, a retired Haryana government employee and a prominent Dalit activist who currently serves as the National Coordinator of the Scheduled Castes Unit of the Congress, secured the second seat with 28 votes.Independent candidate Satish Nandal polled 16 votes, leaving the race for the second seat narrowly contested after cross-polling diluted what the Congress could have easily counted.According to the Federal House election formula, the quota required to win a seat is 2,767 votes. Both Bhatia and Bude exceeded this standard, leaving no room for further transfer of votes.
Deepender Hooda claims to ‘vote for Chauri’, says BJP is trying to ‘murder democracy’
At a press conference in Delhi, Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda congratulated the party leadership and praised Budh’s victory but launched a blistering attack on the BJP over the way the polls were being conducted.“In Haryana, under the cover of darkness, the BJP is trying to murder democracy and indulge in poll-based elections,” Hooda said, according to the Press Trust of India.He claimed that the BJP had “no faith in democracy” and only wanted to “seize power” but said MPs and workers were vigilant to ensure the victory of Budde, whom he described as a man who worked for social justice.According to news agency ANI, Hooda said the BJP had adopted “all possible strategies” and “such unethical political behavior would not have been resorted to for just one Lok Sabha seat anywhere in the country before today.”
Congress accuses election officials of bargaining, bias
Hooda claimed that the BJP tried “various tactics”, including encouraging cross-voting and trying to win seats through bargaining.He further claimed that when the move failed, the BJP “launched its B-Team INLD” and claimed that the BJP did not clarify its position until polling day.Hooda claimed that “the INLD evaded the vote when more than 30 votes in Congress had already been cast in favor.”He later accused the BJP of influencing the Election Commission and accused election officials of bias.“The returning officer showed bias and canceled four of our votes, even though they were all valid. This was done after another returning officer had already placed the same votes in a valid tray. This shows that the BJP is obsessed with ‘voting’ in the Lok Sabha elections,” Hooda said.Furthermore, Hooda added, “The four ballots that were invalidated during our count all counted… This is a victory for democracy.”
Congress acknowledges crossover vote, says ‘strictest action’ to come
Even while attacking the BJP, the Congress admitted that some of its MLAs had cross-voted.Hooda said some Congress MLAs from Haryana had cross-voted and warned of action.“Our MLAs who betrayed their conscience and integrity – not just themselves but even their next generation will be held accountable by the people of Haryana. The Congress party will take strictest possible action against these MLAs,” he said.Hooda also said the public would not forgive these MLAs and those who remained loyal to the party despite facing “temptations and pressures” earned more respect from the people.
Five votes were invalid and INLD abstained.
There have been some twists and turns in this election.Two members of the Indian National Congress (INLD) abstained from voting, reducing the number of valid votes in the 90-member Haryana Assembly to 88 when voting began.INLD leaders Abhay Singh Chautala and Aditya Devi Lal said the party decided to abstain “keeping in mind the sentiments of the people”.Five votes were later declared invalid – four by the Congress and one by the BJP, officials said.The poll body declared Congress MP Paramveer Singh’s vote invalid after the Congress and the BJP complained to the Election Commission about breach of voting secrecy.Invalid ballots became a major flashpoint, with congressional accusations of selective targeting and procedural bias.
Budde calls it a victory despite ‘illegal cancellation of votes’
Congress winner Karamvir Singh Boudh also questioned the cancellation of voting after his victory.ANI quoted Budh as saying, “The votes were illegally canceled but I have the blessings of the Congress party and the people. I have the love of the top leadership of the Congress party.”Congress leaders expected his victory to be politically significant, especially after the BJP leaders dismissed him as a “weak candidate”.Hooda said those who called social workers weak received an “appropriate response” and described the outcome as a “constitutional victory”.Congress’ scheduled castes unit chief Rajendra Pal Gautam, who accompanied Hooda to the press conference, said he was “extremely happy” that the party had nominated “a real Ambedkarit” for the Rajya Sabha, the Press Trust of India reported.
Fresh Assembly Flashpoint
The results of the Union House also reached the Haryana Assembly on Tuesday.In another development, MPs went on strike claiming democratic values were being undermined.Congress MP Geeta Bhukkal claimed that the House had become a “marketplace for buying and selling things” and alleged that ministers openly admitted to “buying” MPs.“The Constitution has been strangled and that is why we are resisting,” she was quoted as saying by ANI.
BJP strikes back
The BJP, however, rejected the Congress party’s charges and referred the cross-polling issue back to the opposition.BJP winner Sanjay Bhatia said the Congress party was upset because its lawmakers were not united.“The responsibility of the Congress is to unite its workers and MLAs and now they are making accusations against us because of cross-voting by their own workers, which is not right,” Bhatia said.Haryana minister Mahipal Dhanda also dismissed the Congress party’s allegations, saying independent candidates had every right to seek votes and claiming the Congress party was “holding their workers hostage”.
Congress got away with it
With five Congress MPs allegedly cross-voting, if independent candidate Satish Nandal also gets 11 second-preference votes from BJP candidate Bhatia, and if one more Congress MP cross-votes in his favor, he could tie Budh’s vote tally.The math underscores how close Congress came to losing a seat it was expected to win easily.In the end, the Congress managed to secure one of the two seats despite fierce accusations of cross-voting, invalid votes and haggling, but the result triggered a new internal crisis against dissident MLAs and a new political battle with the BJP over the vote.
