Chandigarh, March 17: The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the opposition Congress each secured one Rajya Sabha seat from Haryana on Tuesday following a high-stakes electoral contest defined by cross-voting and procedural delays. BJP candidate and former MP Sanjay Bhatia and Congress nominee Karamvir Boudh emerged victorious through preference votes in a counting process that stretched into the early hours of Wednesday morning.
While official results remained pending from the Election Commission past 1:30 a.m., party leadership from both sides declared their candidates successful. The election for the two seats became a three-way struggle after Satish Nandal filed as a BJP-backed Independent, though he ultimately fell short of the required mark by a margin of three votes.
The polling process was marked by significant internal friction within the Congress camp. Party officials stated that four of their votes were declared invalid while five legislators chose to cross-vote against the party line. General Secretary BK Hariprasad affirmed that the party would pursue disciplinary measures against the lawmakers who defied the whip.
“The BJP went all out when it came to horse-trading, but the Congress leaders stood their ground,” Hariprasad asserted. He maintained that despite attempts to influence voters, the party remained resilient under the guidance of state leadership and senior figures like Bhupinder Singh Hooda.
The Indian National Lok Dal opted to abstain from the proceedings, a move that shifted the arithmetic of the 90-member Assembly. Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini noted that the INLD’s decision effectively assisted the opposition.
“By deciding to abstain, it helped the Congress and became its ‘B team’,” the Chief Minister said. Saini further remarked on the opposition’s decision to sequester its MLAs in Himachal Pradesh resorts prior to the vote, suggesting a lack of internal trust.
