Chandigarh, Mar 16 (PTI) Counting of votes for elections to two Rajya Sabha seats in Haryana began Monday night after it was delayed as the BJP and the Congress filed complaints alleging violation of vote secrecy.
The counting was supposed to begin at 5 pm after voting ended at 4 pm. It finally started after the poll panel gave a go-ahead, said official sources.
Before the voting ended, minister Krishan Kumar Bedi told reporters that the BJP has complained to the Election Commission about “violation of vote secrecy” of two Congress MLAs — Bharat Singh Beniwal from Ellenabad and Paramvir Singh from Tohana.
“Two Congress MLAs did not have their ballot folded as it should have been, and violated the secrecy of their vote. We have complained to the Election Commission,” Bedi said.
However, Congress leader Ashok Arora said no complaint was filed at the time these legislators voted. It was deliberately filed after 4 pm, he said.
Arora also said the Congress has filed a complaint against senior BJP leader and minister Anil Vij, accusing him of violating vote secrecy.
Asked how confident he was about the polls, Congress MLA Bhupinder Singh Hooda said the Congress will win one seat, and the BJP will win the other.
Haryana BJP president Mohan Lal Badoli, when asked whether the Independent candidate was winning the poll, replied, “The kind of information you and we have, it seems that there is going to be some ‘chamatkar’ (miracle) in Haryana voting.” To another question, Badoli said their demand is that elections should be held in a fair manner.
Haryana Congress leader Rao Narender Singh termed the allegation of vote secrecy violation against his party MLAs “wrong”. Congress candidate Karamvir Singh Boudh filed a complaint to the ECI against the returning officer for his alleged partisan conduct.
Voting was held for the two seats, with the Indian National Lok Dal, which has two legislators, abstaining from polling.
BJP’s Sanjay Bhatia, the Congress’ Karamvir Singh Boudh and Independent candidate Satish Nandal are in the fray. The BJP has backed Nandal, who had unsuccessfully contested the 2019 assembly polls, as its nominee.
Nandal’s candidature was proposed by three Independents — Savitri Jindal, Rajesh Joon and Devender Kadyan — and seven BJP MLAs.
Meanwhile, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge wrote to the Election Commission, alleging an attempt to interfere with the integrity of the Rajya Sabha election and seeking time for a party delegation to meet him.
In his letter, Kharge also attached a copy of the representation submitted to ECI filed by party candidate Boudh.
“There is a clear attempt to interfere with the integrity of the election, and it must be stopped/ redressed by the ECI immediately. Furthermore, no disqualification of our legitimate voters/ votes cast can be allowed in what is clearly a transparent attempt to taint/derail the process,” the letter said.
“Given the time-sensitive nature of the matter, we request time immediately for a delegation led by Abhishek Manu Singhvi, along with senior leaders from the party to meet your good self before the declaration of the results,” it said.
The Indian National Lok Dal, which has two MLAs in the 90-member Haryana Assembly, abstained from voting. Party leaders Abhay Singh Chautala and Aditya Devi Lal said they took the decision keeping people’s sentiments in view.
People are fed up with both the BJP and the Congress, Aditya Devi Lal told reporters.
In the 90-member Haryana assembly, the BJP has 48 MLAs, the Congress 37, and the INLD has two legislators, while three are Independents.
Each of the two candidates in the Rajya Sabha polls requires 30 votes after the INLD abstained from voting.
The Congress MLAs, who had been moved to Himachal Pradesh ahead of the polling, returned to Chandigarh shortly after the polling commenced at 9 am and cast their votes.
Of 37 Congress MLAs in the Haryana Assembly, a few did not go to Himachal Pradesh owing to family commitments or health reasons. Senior Congress leader and former chief minister Hooda had also stayed back.
The party has the required strength to help its candidate win a seat. The equation, however, could change in the case of cross-voting.
Earlier, Gujarat deputy chief minister Harsh Sanghavi, who is a BJP observer for the Rajya Sabha polls in Haryana, told reporters that he was sad to see the way the Congress moved their MLAs to Himachal Pradesh and kept a close eye on their movements.
Vij, who had recently fractured both his legs after a fall, arrived in a wheelchair to cast his vote.
On the Congress sending its MLAs to Himachal before polling, Vij said, “The Congress does not trust its MLAs, which is why they are taking them from here and there.” Independent candidate Nandal, while talking to reporters, said he was confident of his win. When it was pointed out that he did not have the required number on his side, Nandal said he had approached all legislators and appealed to them to vote for him.
The two Rajya Sabha seats from Haryana fell vacant as BJP members Kiran Choudhry and Ram Chander Jangra are set to complete their terms on April 9.
BJP candidate Bhatia is a former Lok Sabha MP from Karnal.
Congress’ Boudh, a retired Haryana government employee, has been a Dalit activist who has raised issues about the community on various platforms. Currently, the coordinator of the National Scheduled Castes Department of the Congress, Boudh is learnt to be the choice of party leader Rahul Gandhi.
In 2016 and 2022, the BJP-backed independents had won the election despite the Congress candidate having the required numbers on its side.
In 2022, Congress candidate Ajay Maken lost to BJP-JJP-backed Independent candidate Kartikeya Sharma despite the party having the required strength of 31 then to win the seat. The then Congress party legislator Kuldeep Bishnoi (now with the BJP) cross-voted while another vote was declared invalid.
In 2016, the votes of 14 Congress MLAs were declared invalid, leading to the loss of a party-backed independent candidate who was otherwise expected to win. PTI SUN VSD NSD NSD NSD
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