After a tense night-long counting, BJP and Congress got one seat each.

From Haryana, Sanjay Bhatia of BJP and Karamveer Singh Buddhist of Congress were elected to Rajya Sabha.Bhatia, a former Lok Sabha MP from Karnal, easily won the first seat with 39 first preference votes. Boudh, a retired Haryana government employee and a prominent Dalit activist who currently serves as the coordinator of the Congress’ national Scheduled Caste department, secured the second seat with 28 votes.Independent candidate Satish Nandal got 16 votes, leading to a narrow contest for the second seat after cross-voting in what was otherwise a comfortable arithmetic for the Congress.Under the Rajya Sabha election formula, the quota required to win a seat was 2,767 votes worth, and both Bhatia and Boudh crossed that figure, leaving no room for further transfer of votes.

Deependra Hooda accused of ‘vote theft’, said- BJP tried to ‘murder democracy’

Addressing a press conference in Delhi, Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda congratulated the party leadership and lauded Buddh’s victory, but launched a scathing attack on the BJP over the manner of the elections.According to PTI, Hooda alleged, “Under the cover of darkness of night in Haryana, BJP tried to kill democracy and steal votes.”He claimed that the BJP “has no faith in democracy” and only wanted to “capture power”, but said Congress MLAs and workers remained alert and ensured the victory of Boudh, whom he described as someone who worked for social justice.Quoting news agency ANI, Hooda said the BJP resorted to “every possible strategy” and “such immoral politics for just one Rajya Sabha seat would not have been seen anywhere in the entire country before today.”

Congress accuses Returning Officer of horse trading, favoritism

Hooda alleged that the BJP tried “all kinds of tactics”, including encouraging cross-voting and attempting to win seats through horse-trading.He further claimed that when this did not succeed, the BJP “activated its B-team INLD”, alleging that the Indian National Lok Dal did not clarify its stand until the day of voting.Hooda alleged, “When more than 30 votes were cast in favor of Congress, INLD ran away from voting.”After this he accused BJP of influencing the Election Commission and accused the Returning Officer of bias.“The returning officer showed favoritism and canceled four of our votes even though all of them were valid. This was done when another returning officer had already put the same votes in the valid tray. This shows that the BJP was involved in ‘vote theft’ in the Rajya Sabha elections.”Hooda further said, “All the 4 votes which were declared invalid during our counting are valid… This is a victory for democracy.”

Congress accepted cross voting, said preparations for ‘strict action’

Congress also attacked BJP and admitted that some of its MLAs had cross-voted.Hooda said some Congress MLAs in Haryana indulged in cross-voting and warned that action would be taken.“Those of our MLAs who have sold their conscience and integrity – not only them, but also their next generations will be held accountable by the people of Haryana. The Congress party is going to take the strictest action against those MLAs.”Hooda also said that the public would not forgive those MLAs, while those who remained loyal to the party despite “temptation and pressure” have earned more respect among the people.

Five votes invalid, INLD absent

Many twists and turns were seen in the elections.Two Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) MLAs abstained, reducing the number of valid votes to 88 at the start of voting in the 90-member Haryana Assembly.INLD leaders Abhay Singh Chautala and Aditya Devi Lal said that the party has decided to remain absent keeping in mind the sentiments of the people.Officials said five votes were later declared invalid – four from the Congress and one from the BJP.Both Congress and BJP approached the Election Commission alleging violation of vote secrecy, with the Election Commission declaring Congress MLA Paramveer Singh’s vote invalid.Invalidation of ballots became a major issue, with Congress alleging selective targeting and procedural bias.

Despite ‘illegal cancellation of votes’, Boudh calls it a victory

Congress winner Karamveer Singh Boudh also raised questions over the cancellation of votes after his victory.“The votes were canceled illegally, but I got the blessings of the Congress party and the people. I got love from the top Congress leadership,” ANI quoted Boudh as saying.Congress leaders described his victory as politically significant, especially after BJP leaders had dismissed him as a “weak candidate”.Hooda said a ‘befitting reply’ has been given to those who called a social activist weak and called the result a ‘victory for the Constitution’.Congress Scheduled Caste department chief Rajendra Pal Gautam, who accompanied Hooda at the press conference, said he was “very happy” that the party has nominated “a true Ambedkarite” to the Rajya Sabha, PTI reported.

fresh assembly flashpoint

The Rajya Sabha result was also echoed in the Haryana Assembly on Tuesday.In a separate development, Congress MLAs walked out of the Assembly, accusing it of undermining democratic values.Congress MLA Geeta Bhukkal claimed that the House has turned into a “market where things are bought and sold” and alleged that ministers have openly admitted to “buying” MLAs.“The Constitution has been strangled and that is why we are boycotting,” he said, as quoted by ANI.

BJP hit back

However, BJP rejected Congress’s allegations and turned the issue of cross-voting on the opposition.BJP winner Sanjay Bhatia said that Congress is worried because its own MLAs are not united.Bhatia said, “Congress’s responsibility was to unite its workers and MLAs, now they are blaming us for cross-voting their workers, which is not right.”Haryana minister Mahipal Dhanda also rejected Congress’s allegation, saying independent candidates have every right to seek votes and alleged that Congress has “held their workers hostage”.

Congress narrowly escaped

With five Congress MLAs reportedly cross-voting, independent candidate Satish Nandal could have potentially matched Boudh if he had also secured BJP candidate Bhatia’s 11 second preference votes and if one more Congress MLA had cross-voted in his favour.This arithmetic underlines how close the Congress came to losing a seat it was expected to win easily.In the end, despite bitter allegations of cross-voting, illegal ballot papers and horse-trading, the Congress managed to secure one of the two seats – but the result has opened up a new internal crisis over dissident MLAs, even as it has fueled a new political battle with the BJP over the conduct of voting.