RS polls: BJP’s Sanjay Bhatia, Congress’s Karamvir Boudh elected from Haryana

Chandigarh, Mar 17 (PTI) BJP's Sanjay Bhatia and Congress party's Karamvir Singh Boudh have been declared elected to two Rajya Sabha seats in keenly watched elections as developments unfolded over allegations of violation of vote secrecy.

Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, in a late-night press conference, congratulated both the leaders on their win.

Officials said five votes were declared invalid -- four of Congress and one of the BJP.

Referring to the overall vote value secured by the Independent candidate, Chief Minister Saini said that Nandal lost by a narrow margin to the Congress candidate.

Saini claimed that five Congress MLAs cross-voted.

Four of the Congress MLAs' votes were declared invalid, he said.

Congress general secretary in charge of Haryana, B K Hariprasad, said action will be taken against the MLAs who cross-voted and have "betrayed the Congress".

About the Congress legislators who cross-voted, Bhupinder Singh Hooda told reporters, "I will not take their names, but people have understood, and they will take revenge for this".

At the same time, Hooda attacked the BJP, saying, "They tried all tactics. But Congress has passed the 'agni pariksha' (by winning one seat)".

Calling the elections interesting, Chief Minister Saini slammed the Congress, accusing it of holding its MLAs captive and transferring them to different places, referring to the shifting of Congress legislators to Himachal Pradesh just a few days before the Rajya Sabha poll voting. The grand old party MLAs returned from Himachal to Chandigarh on Monday morning.

"I have seen for the first time that Congress did not trust its MLAs", Saini claimed.

The Congress is "finished", and it has "no future", Saini said.

The chief minister also lashed out at the INLD for abstaining from voting and said it acted as a "B team" of the Congress.

The INLD indirectly supported the Congress, he claimed, while adding that if they did not have to support the BJP candidate, they could have given their vote to the Independent.

Replying to a question on the Independent candidate entering the contest, Saini said, "How could they stop anyone from contesting the poll?" Counting of votes, which were to take place at 5 pm after voting ended at 4 pm, began following a delay of over five hours after the Congress and the BJP lodged their respective complaints of violation of vote secrecy.

After the results were late in the night, Congress MLA and former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said that his party nominee Boudh had won.

"It is our victory", said Hooda.

"This is a victory of 'Prajatantar' (democracy) and defeat of 'vote chori'," said Hooda as he, along with other party leaders, including Boudh, Deepender Hooda, showed victory signs.

Hooda said that from the beginning, one seat each belonged to Congress and the BJP.

But they tried for "vote theft" for the third candidate, Hooda alleged. He added that the conduct of the returning officer was partisan.

Boudh thanked the party's central leadership, Hooda and other state leaders after he got elected.

BJP's Bhatia (58), Karamvir Singh Boudh (61) of the Congress and Independent candidate Satish Nandal (63) were in the fray for the two seats. The BJP-backed Nandal had unsuccessfully contested the 2019 assembly polls as its nominee.

Indian National Lok Dal, which has two members in the 90-member Haryana Assembly, abstained from voting, with party leaders Abhay Singh Chautala and Aditya Devi Lal saying they decided to make this decision keeping in view the people's sentiments.

Earlier during the day, minister Krishan Kumar Bedi had told reporters that the BJP had complained to the Election Commission pertaining to "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, claiming that it was deliberately filed after 4 pm.

He further said the Congress too filed a complaint against senior BJP leader and minister Anil Vij, accusing him of violating vote secrecy.

Haryana Congress Rao Narender Singh called the allegation of violation of vote secrecy against his party's MLAs wrong and said his candidate would win the election.

Congress candidate Karamvir Singh Boudh filed a complaint to the ECI against the Returning Officer for his alleged partisan conduct.

Counting of votes started late in the night after the ECI gave a go-ahead in this regard, said official sources.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday 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 had said.

"Given the time-sensitive nature of the matter, we request time immediately for a delegation led by Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi, along with senior leaders from the party to meet your good self before the declaration of the results," it said.

The BJP has 48 MLAs, the Congress has 37, the INLD has two MLAs, and three legislators are Independents in the 90-member Haryana assembly.

Haryana minister Anil Vij, who had recently fractured both his legs after a fall, arrived in a wheelchair to cast his vote.

Nandal's candidature was proposed by three independents -- Savitri Jindal, Rajesh Joon and Devender Kadyan -- with the BJP backing 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.

Nandal had lost to Congress leader Hooda from the Garhi-Sampla-Kiloi constituency in Rohtak district in the 2019 assembly polls. Before joining the BJP, he was also with the INLD.

BJP candidate Bhatia is a former Lok Sabha MP from Karnal.

Congress's Boudh, a retired Haryana government employee, has been a Dalit activist who has raised issues pertaining to the community on various platforms.

Currently, the coordinator of the National Scheduled Castes Department of the Congress. PTI