Chandigarh, March 17: Former Member of Parliament Sanjay Bhatia of the BJP and Dalit activist Karamvir Boudh of the Congress have claimed victory in Haryana’s biennial Rajya Sabha elections. The results followed a tense standoff in Chandigarh where counting was deferred for five hours pending a review of voting secrecy violations by the Election Commission.
The contest concluded with the defeat of Independent candidate Satish Nandal, who was supported by several BJP and Independent MLAs. Sports Minister Gaurav Gautam declared that Nandal had nearly secured a win, missing the target by only three votes. Gautam maintained that the final outcome might have shifted had the two members of the INLD participated in the balloting.
Disciplinary concerns emerged for the Congress as counting revealed that five of its MLAs cross-voted, including Mohd Ilyas. The party also saw four of its ballots invalidated by the Returning Officer. To prevent such defections, the Congress had previously moved its 31 legislators to luxury resorts in Shimla and Kasauli before transporting them to the Assembly in a private bus.
Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini described the election as a clear indicator of fractures within the opposition. He stated that the Congress leadership felt compelled to act as polling agents because they did not trust their own legislators.
“This was a very interesting election. The Congress did not trust its own MLA and moved them to Himachal Pradesh,” Saini affirmed during a post-election briefing.
In response to the allegations of cross-voting and political maneuvering, BK Hariprasad declared that the party would take stern action against those who broke ranks. He asserted that BJP leaders had followed Congress members as far as Himachal Pradesh in an attempt to sway the vote, but maintained that these efforts were eventually thwarted by the party’s resolve.
