Haryana: 2 days after quitting party, Ajay Yadav says he is 'Congressman by birth'
Chandigarh, Oct 20: Two days after quitting the Congress party, former Haryana minister Captain Ajay Singh Yadav on Saturday took a U-turn and said he was a "Congressman by birth" and would remain one "till his last breath".
Yadav said he was "prevailed upon" by his son and former MLA Chiranjeev Rao to "forget the past" and work for the party.
Yadav quit the party on Thursday alleging shabby treatment after Sonia Gandhi left the post of party president. He also resigned as chairman of the All India Congress Committee's Other Backward Classes (OBC) Department.
In a series of posts on X, the 65-year-old leader said he has served the Congress for 38 years and gave his best to the party. He said his family had an "association of more than 70 years" with the Nehru-Gandhi clan.
"I worked with my leader late Rajiv Gandhi ji and Sonia Gandhi and cannot forget their affection towards me... I am a Congressman by birth and would remain a Congressman till my last breath," said Yadav.
"I was upset that my hard work done for the OBC department was not being appreciated by the high command and some harsh words made me take this drastic step. But with a cool mind I have decided to strengthen the Congress party, especially my mentor and leader Sonia Gandhi ji," he said in another post.
"I am especially indebted to my leader and mentor Sonia Gandhi ji and can never think of hurting her feelings," he said.
Chiranjeev Rao lost from Rewari in the recently concluded Haryana Assembly polls.
Yadav had earlier said the party should introspect to find the reasons for its failure in southern Haryana, especially Gurugram, Rewari, Mahendragarh and Faridabad where it won just one seat as against 10 by the BJP.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
