Bhiwani (Haryana) [India], March 22 : Former Haryana Chief Minister and Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Sunday stressed that strict action will be taken against party members involved in cross-voting during the Rajya Sabha elections.
"BJP has won one seat, and Congress has won one seat. The way the votes were cancelled, action will be taken against those 5 people who cross-voted. There is no issue among ourselves. BJP says that we didn't field anyone, so why did 7 people vote for the independent candidate? Cross-voting happened there. Our 3 votes were cancelled, the returning officer has acted dishonestly," he said.
Earlier on Thursday, Hooda, along with Congress Legislature Party (CLP) members, wrote a letter to Governor Bandaru Dattatreya, alleging serious irregularities in the recently concluded Rajya Sabha elections in the state.
In the letter, Congress leaders claimed that the election process was compromised and described it as a "mockery of democracy," alleging that free and fair electoral norms were undermined during the polling and counting process.
The Congress stated that while the Haryana Assembly has 90 members, with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party holding 48 seats and Congress 37, the second Rajya Sabha contest became controversial after BJP-backed independent candidate Satish Nandal entered the fray despite lacking the required numbers for victory.
The opposition alleged that the ruling party resorted to political pressure, inducements, and misuse of government machinery to secure support for the independent candidate. The letter further claimed that horse-trading and undue influence were used during the election process.
Congress also accused Returning Officer Pankaj Aggarwal of acting in a partisan manner. According to the letter, valid objections raised by Congress polling agents were ignored, and certain votes were allegedly handled in a way that favoured the BJP and the independent candidate.
The biennial Rajya Sabha elections were held to fill 37 seats across 10 states. Out of the 37 seats, 26 candidates have already been elected unopposed, while voting was held for the remaining 11 seats, including five from Bihar.
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