Chandigarh, March 17 – Sanjay Bhatia of the BJP and Karamvir Singh Boudh of the Congress have been declared elected to two Rajya Sabha seats, officials said.
Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini congratulated both leaders in a late-night press conference.
Counting of votes, which was scheduled for 5 pm after voting ended at 4 pm, began after a delay of over five hours following complaints from the Congress and the BJP regarding violations of vote secrecy.
Congress MLA and former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda stated that his party candidate, Boudh, had won.
“This is our victory,” he said while addressing reporters here.
Hooda said that the two seats were initially intended for the Congress and the BJP. However, attempts were made to manipulate the outcome for a third candidate.
Boudh thanked the party leadership and Hooda for his election.
Meanwhile, Haryana Minister Gaurav Gautam had earlier stated that their party candidate, Sanjay Bhatia, had won.
Officials said that five votes were declared invalid – four belonging to the Congress and one belonging to the BJP.
Bhatia of the BJP, Karamvir Singh Boudh of the Congress, and Independent candidate Satish Nandal were contesting for the two seats. The BJP backed Nandal, who had unsuccessfully contested the 2019 assembly elections as its nominee. Two MLAs from the INLD abstained from voting.
Bhatia claimed that five Congress MLAs had cross-voted.
Counting of votes, which was scheduled for 5 pm after voting ended at 4 pm, began after a delay of over five hours following complaints from the Congress and the BJP regarding violations of vote secrecy.
Before the voting concluded, Minister Krishan Kumar Bedi had told reporters that the BJP had complained to the Election Commission regarding “violations of vote secrecy” by two Congress MLAs – Bharat Singh Beniwal from Ellenabad and Paramvir Singh from Tohana.
“Two Congress MLAs did not fold their ballots as required, thus violating the secrecy of their vote,” Bedi said.
However, Congress leader Ashok Arora stated that no complaint was filed at the time these legislators voted, claiming that it was deliberately filed after 4 pm.
He further stated that the Congress also filed a complaint against senior BJP leader and Minister Anil Vij, accusing him of violating vote secrecy.
Haryana Congress MLA Rao Narender Singh had earlier dismissed allegations of violation of vote secrecy against his party MLAs, stating that his candidate would win the election.
Congress candidate Karamvir Singh Boudh filed a complaint to the ECI against the Returning Officer for alleged partisan conduct.
Officials confirmed that the ECI gave the go-ahead for counting after this complaint.
Earlier, voting was held for the two seats on Monday, with the Indian National Lok Dal, which has two legislators, abstaining from polling.
The Congress MLAs who were moved to Himachal Pradesh ahead of the polling returned to the city in the morning and exercised their vote.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge had earlier written 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 the ECI 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 stated.
“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 Indian National Lok Dal, which has two members in the 90-member Haryana Assembly, had abstained from voting, with party leaders Abhay Singh Chautala and Aditya Devi Lal saying they have decided to make this decision keeping in view the people’s sentiments.
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.
Thirty votes each are required for two candidates to make it to the Rajya Sabha from Haryana after the INLD abstained from voting.
The MLAs of the Congress, who had been moved to Himachal ahead of the polling, returned to Chandigarh shortly after the polling commenced at 9 am.
Haryana Minister Anil Vij, who had recently fractured both his legs after a fall, arrived in a wheelchair to cast his vote.
Ahead of the polling, the Congress had moved its MLAs to Kufri in Himachal on Friday.
Nandal's candidature was proposed by three independents – Savitri Jindal, Rajesh Joon and Devender Kadyan – and seven BJP MLAs.
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, Boudh, is learnt to be the choice of party leader Rahul Gandhi.