Rajya Sabha polls: Vote counting begins in Haryana after delay over 'violation of vote secrecy'
Chandigarh (PTI): Counting of votes for elections to two Rajya Sabha seats in Haryana began Monday night after it was delayed as the BJP and the Congress filed complaints alleging violation of vote secrecy.
The counting was supposed to begin at 5 pm after voting ended at 4 pm. It finally started after the poll panel gave a go-ahead, said official sources.
Before the voting ended, minister Krishan Kumar Bedi told reporters that the BJP has complained to the Election Commission about "violation of vote secrecy" of two Congress MLAs -- Bharat Singh Beniwal from Ellenabad and Paramvir Singh from Tohana.
"Two Congress MLAs did not have their ballot folded as it should have been, and violated the secrecy of their vote. We have complained to the Election Commission," Bedi said.
However, Congress leader Ashok Arora said no complaint was filed at the time these legislators voted. It was deliberately filed after 4 pm, he said.
Arora also said the Congress has filed a complaint against senior BJP leader and minister Anil Vij, accusing him of violating vote secrecy.
Asked how confident he was about the polls, Congress MLA Bhupinder Singh Hooda said the Congress will win one seat, and the BJP will win the other.
Haryana BJP president Mohan Lal Badoli, when asked whether the Independent candidate was winning the poll, replied, "The kind of information you and we have, it seems that there is going to be some 'chamatkar' (miracle) in Haryana voting."
To another question, Badoli said their demand is that elections should be held in a fair manner.
Haryana Congress leader Rao Narender Singh termed the allegation of vote secrecy violation against his party MLAs "wrong". Congress candidate Karamvir Singh Boudh filed a complaint to the ECI against the returning officer for his alleged partisan conduct.
Voting was held for the two seats, with the Indian National Lok Dal, which has two legislators, abstaining from polling.
BJP's Sanjay Bhatia, the Congress' Karamvir Singh Boudh and Independent candidate Satish Nandal are in the fray. The BJP has backed Nandal, who had unsuccessfully contested the 2019 assembly polls, as its nominee.
Nandal's candidature was proposed by three Independents -- Savitri Jindal, Rajesh Joon and Devender Kadyan -- and seven BJP MLAs.
Meanwhile, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge wrote to the Election Commission, alleging an attempt to interfere with the integrity of the Rajya Sabha election and seeking time for a party delegation to meet him.
In his letter, Kharge also attached a copy of the representation submitted to ECI filed by party candidate Boudh.
"There is a clear attempt to interfere with the integrity of the election, and it must be stopped/ redressed by the ECI immediately. Furthermore, no disqualification of our legitimate voters/ votes cast can be allowed in what is clearly a transparent attempt to taint/derail the process," the letter said.
"Given the time-sensitive nature of the matter, we request time immediately for a delegation led by Abhishek Manu Singhvi, along with senior leaders from the party to meet your good self before the declaration of the results," it said.
The Indian National Lok Dal, which has two MLAs in the 90-member Haryana Assembly, abstained from voting. Party leaders Abhay Singh Chautala and Aditya Devi Lal said they took the decision keeping people's sentiments in view.
People are fed up with both the BJP and the Congress, Aditya Devi Lal told reporters.
In the 90-member Haryana assembly, the BJP has 48 MLAs, the Congress 37, and the INLD has two legislators, while three are Independents.
Each of the two candidates in the Rajya Sabha polls requires 30 votes after the INLD abstained from voting.
The Congress MLAs, who had been moved to Himachal Pradesh ahead of the polling, returned to Chandigarh shortly after the polling commenced at 9 am and cast their votes.
Of 37 Congress MLAs in the Haryana Assembly, a few did not go to Himachal Pradesh owing to family commitments or health reasons. Senior Congress leader and former chief minister Hooda had also stayed back.
The party has the required strength to help its candidate win a seat. The equation, however, could change in the case of cross-voting.
Earlier, Gujarat deputy chief minister Harsh Sanghavi, who is a BJP observer for the Rajya Sabha polls in Haryana, told reporters that he was sad to see the way the Congress moved their MLAs to Himachal Pradesh and kept a close eye on their movements.
Vij, who had recently fractured both his legs after a fall, arrived in a wheelchair to cast his vote.
On the Congress sending its MLAs to Himachal before polling, Vij said, "The Congress does not trust its MLAs, which is why they are taking them from here and there."
Independent candidate Nandal, while talking to reporters, said he was confident of his win. When it was pointed out that he did not have the required number on his side, Nandal said he had approached all legislators and appealed to them to vote for him.
The two Rajya Sabha seats from Haryana fell vacant as BJP members Kiran Choudhry and Ram Chander Jangra are set to complete their terms on April 9.
BJP candidate Bhatia is a former Lok Sabha MP from Karnal.
Congress' Boudh, a retired Haryana government employee, has been a Dalit activist who has raised issues about the community on various platforms. Currently, the coordinator of the National Scheduled Castes Department of the Congress, Boudh is learnt to be the choice of party leader Rahul Gandhi.
In 2016 and 2022, the BJP-backed independents had won the election despite the Congress candidate having the required numbers on its side.
In 2022, Congress candidate Ajay Maken lost to BJP-JJP-backed Independent candidate Kartikeya Sharma despite the party having the required strength of 31 then to win the seat. The then Congress party legislator Kuldeep Bishnoi (now with the BJP) cross-voted while another vote was declared invalid.
In 2016, the votes of 14 Congress MLAs were declared invalid, leading to the loss of a party-backed independent candidate who was otherwise expected to win.
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“Full prepared..going to win,” Congress MP KC Venugopal ahead of Kerala polls
EC not functioning as a neutral institution: Venugopal
Congress MP K. C. Venugopal on Monday raised concerns over the election schedule announced by the Election Commission of India for the upcoming Kerala Assembly election, questioning the timing of the poll dates and alleging that the schedule leaves limited time for campaigning.
Speaking to news agency ANI in Delhi after the poll panel announced elections in five states and Union Territories, Venugopal said that the Congress and the United Democratic Front (UDF) are fully prepared for the elections and confident of victory. At the same time, he questioned the pattern of dates announced by the Election Commission.
“We are fully prepared, we are going to win the elections... You can see how the Election Commission has set the dates. The first phase of elections is on the 9th, nominations are due until the 23rd, scrutiny is on the 24th, nominations can be withdrawn until the 26th, and after that, there are 11 days for campaigning,” he said.
“As for Kerala, there is Easter and Good Friday in the first week...The Election Commission could have announced the dates earlier... The counting date is on May 4th, so what was the point of holding elections in Kerala so early? What is their intention behind holding elections on the same day in Kerala, Puducherry, and Assam?... We are confident that we will win, but the people of the country are seeing the biased attitude of the Election Commission...,” he added.
He further stated that his party was ready for elections irrespective of the dates announced by the poll body.
“We are going to win the election. India's strategy has been set up. And we are all ready for winning this election. But one thing as far as declaring election, even though they are giving only for five days, we are going to win the election. We have no problem,” he said.
Detailing the poll schedule while questioning the time available for campaigning, he stated, “but you can see the pattern of date which the election commission announced. Yesterday they declared election, and today they notified us. The first phase of election on April 9th, filing of nomination will be over on the 23rd of this month, 24th scrutiny, 26th withdrawal of nomination. After 26, four plus seven, 11 days campaign.”
“As far as Kerala is concerned, April first week is a holy week. The holiday week means, Good Friday is there. Nobody will do anything on Good Friday. Easter is the big festival. These festivals are natural, you have to see that. Among the 11 days, working days, two, three days will go for holidays. Then hardly seven, eight days for campaigning in this election for candidates,” the Congress MP questioned.
The Congress leader said the Election Commission could have announced the dates earlier if there was a need for an early election schedule.
Questioning the urgency behind placing Kerala in the first phase of polling, he added that the counting date is much later.
“Which is the date of counting? Fourth May. Then what is the urgency of putting Kerala in the first phase without giving sufficient time for candidates? And putting Kerala, Puducherry, Assam together, what is the intention behind that?” Venugopal questioned.
He also alleged that the Election Commission was not functioning as a neutral institution.
“The Election commission is completely losing that capacity as a neutral player. You can see 14 of our prime minister's programs over and on the 15th they announce the election, 16th notification comes,” he said.
Venugopal further stated that such tactics would not affect the Congress’ prospects in the election.
“They think that this type of techniques and tactics, because of these techniques and tactics, UDF is going to lose, and Congress is going to lose. This is their complete dream only. This is not going to happen. We are very much confident at any cost, whether they are not giving any time also, we are going to win the election,” he said.
“But the people of India are watching this. The tricks of the election commission. To restrict the campaign, people of India are watching. This I want to bring into the notice of the nation. That's all,” Venugopal said.
The Election Commission of India on Sunday announced the schedule for the Kerala Assembly election. Polling in the state will be held in a single phase on April 9 while the counting of votes is scheduled to take place on May 4.
