BJP, Congress secure one seat each in Haryana Rajya Sabha poll amid controversy

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress each secured one seat in the Haryana Rajya Sabha elections on Tuesday, following a closely watched contest overshadowed by allegations of irregularities and political manoeuvring.

The BJP’s Sanjay Bhatia and the Congress’ Karamvir Boudh emerged victorious in the election to two Upper House seats, while BJP-backed Independent candidate Satish Nandal was defeated.

The voting process, conducted among 88 legislators in the 90-member assembly, witnessed abstentions from Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) MLAs Arjun Chautala and Aditya Devilal. The BJP currently holds 48 seats in the assembly, the Congress 37, the INLD two, and there are three Independents.

Counting of votes, which concluded on Monday afternoon, was delayed until late in the evening after clearance from the Election Commission of India, adding to the day’s tensions. Leaders from both major parties initially claimed victory as the process unfolded.

The election was marked by sharp exchanges between the BJP and Congress, with both sides levelling accusations of violations. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge wrote to the Chief Election Commissioner alleging attempts to undermine the integrity of the poll and sought an urgent meeting before the declaration of results.

The BJP, in turn, accused two Congress legislators of breaching ballot secrecy during voting, while the Congress countered by accusing state minister Anil Vij of similar misconduct.

Amid concerns over possible cross-voting, the Congress had moved a majority of its MLAs to Himachal Pradesh ahead of the election. On the eve of polling, 31 legislators were shifted from Shimla to Kasauli and later escorted under tight security to Chandigarh to cast their votes.

Chief minister Nayab Singh Saini cast the first vote, while Leader of the Opposition and former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda expressed confidence in his party’s performance, declaring the result a victory for the Congress.

The two Rajya Sabha seats were vacated by BJP members Kiran Choudhry and Ram Chander Jangra, whose terms are set to end in April.

Haryana has previously witnessed controversies in Rajya Sabha elections, including instances in 2016 and 2022 where invalid votes played a decisive role in the final outcome.

With IANS inputs