Late-Night Drama Ends Haryana Rajya Sabha Poll; BJP’s Sanjay Bhatia and Congress’ Karamvir Boudh Win
Chandigarh: After hours of political drama, complaints over ballot secrecy and a delayed counting process, the results of the Haryana Rajya Sabha elections were finally declared early Tuesday morning, with Sanjay Bhatia of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Karamvir Singh Boudh of the Indian National Congress winning one seat each.
The results were announced around 1:10 am on Tuesday, nearly eight hours after the counting was scheduled to begin. The delay followed a series of objections regarding the validity and secrecy of certain ballots, forcing election authorities to refer the matter to the Election Commission of India for clarification.
Complaints, Scrutiny and Delayed Counting
Tensions began building even before polling closed. Haryana minister Gaurav Gautam alleged that the secrecy of the vote cast by Tohana MLA Paramvir Singh had been compromised. Similar objections were raised by minister Krishn Bedi regarding the vote of Ellenabad MLA Bharat Singh Beniwal.
In response, Congress MLA Bharat Bhushan Batra filed a complaint against minister Anil Vij, alleging a similar breach.
Amid the escalating dispute, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge wrote to the Election Commission warning of what he described as an attempt to compromise the integrity of the election. A Congress delegation also met Gyanesh Kumar in New Delhi seeking intervention.
After detailed scrutiny that stretched well past midnight, the Election Commission cancelled the vote of Paramvir Singh but upheld the ballots of Beniwal and Vij. Counting eventually began at 10:25 pm, more than five hours behind schedule.
Voting Numbers and Political Arithmetic
Out of the 90 members in the Haryana Legislative Assembly, 88 MLAs participated in voting. Two legislators of the Indian National Lok Dal—Arjun Chautala and Aditya Devi Lal—did not cast their votes, with the party stating it chose to distance itself from both BJP and Congress.
During scrutiny, five ballots were cancelled—four belonging to Congress MLAs and one to the BJP—leaving 83 valid votes. Under the single transferable vote system, the winning quota was calculated at 27.67 votes.
Narrow Margin Decides Second Seat
BJP candidate Sanjay Bhatia secured 39 first-preference votes, comfortably crossing the required quota. His surplus votes were transferred to BJP-backed Independent candidate Satish Nandal.
Congress nominee Karamvir Singh Boudh received 28 first-preference votes, just above the winning mark. Nandal accumulated 27.33 votes, falling short of victory by a razor-thin margin of 0.67 vote.
Political observers noted that the result could have been different had the cancelled BJP vote been counted or if the two INLD MLAs had participated in voting.
Cross-Voting and Political Reactions
The election also witnessed allegations of cross-voting. According to reports, five Congress MLAs voted for Nandal, while four Congress ballots were invalidated during scrutiny.
Leader of Opposition Bhupender Singh Hooda, who supervised the Congress strategy during the election, described the outcome as a hard-fought victory, saying the party had “passed the test by fire.”
Meanwhile, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini claimed that nearly 25 percent of Congress MLAs had shifted their votes, alleging that the Indian National Lok Dal had indirectly helped the Congress.
A High-Stakes Contest
The dramatic sequence of complaints, ballot cancellations and late-night counting turned the Haryana Rajya Sabha election into one of the most closely watched contests in recent years. In the end, the Assembly’s delicate political arithmetic ensured that both the BJP and Congress secured one seat each in the Upper House.
