New Delhi [India], March 19 : Haryana Congress in charge and party leader BK Hariprasad on Wednesday said that during the recent state Rajya Sabha elections, several irregularities occurred within the party's voting. Out of 36 votes cast by Congress MLAs, five to six were declared invalid, and a few legislators cross-voted.
He identified the MLAs involved as Shaily Chaudhary (Narayangarh), Mohammad Ilyas (Punhana), Mohammad Israil (Hathin), and Renu Bala (Sadhaura).
"Out of our 36 votes, 5-6 were declared invalid and some of our MLAs cross-voted. They are Narayangarh-Shaily Chaudhary, Punhana - Mohammad Ilyas, Hathin - Mohammad Israel, Sadhaura-Renu Bala," said Hariprasad.
The party is planning to take action against the leaders who cross voted, as Hariprasad added that, "The party's disciplinary committee will send its report to us, based on which AICC will act. An action will certainly be taken against the MLAs who cross-voted."
Meanwhile, Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda alleged that the BJP used pressure tactics during the elections. He claimed that five Congress MLAs cross-voted and described the situation as a "major conspiracy," accusing the ruling party of employing unethical methods and intimidation.
"In the Rajya Sabha, 5 of our MLAs cross-voted... A very big conspiracy has been hatched. The BJP resorted to all unethical tactics... They are threatening people," said Deepinder Hooda.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress have each won seats in the Haryana Rajya Sabha elections. Congress leaders said they won despite the BJP trying to "buy" votes, while the BJP winner, Sanjay Bhatia, said the Congress is just upset because their own people didn't vote for them.
While celebrations occured in both camps, leaders traded accusations, with the Congress blaming the BJP for unethical tactics and the BJP questioning the opposition's ability to keep its legislators together.
BJP winning candidate Sanjay Bhatia, while speaking to ANI, said, "Congress's responsibility was to unite its workers and MLAs, now they are putting allegations on us for the cross-votes of their own workers, which is not right... I have been born and brought up in Haryana and my priority will be the issues of the people here... Congress got 28 votes, the independent received 16 votes with first preference and BJP received 39 first preference votes."
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