RS polls: BJP delegation meets EC, asks to declare elections null and void in Maharashtra and Haryana

As the voting for Rajya Sabha polls concluded on Friday, a delegation led by Bharatiya Janata Party leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi met the Election Commission to declare the elections in Maharashtra and Haryana on the basis of broken rules of secrecy in voting.

"A delegation of BJP met with ECI today regarding RS elections in Maharashtra and Haryana. Our party has submitted complaints in specific states as well. We have asked that this election be declared null and void on basis of broken rules of secrecy in voting," Naqvi told reporters here today.

"We have urged the ECI to look into the matter and stop the counting," he added.

According to Naqvi, the ECI had assured them of conducting the investigation as per the norms as it is strictly prohibited to show your ballot papers to anybody other than the authorised agent.

The delegation comprising Naqvi, Jitendra Singh, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, and Arjun Ram Meghwal, had demanded that the votes of NCP leader Jitendra Awhad, Congress leader Yashomati Thakur and Shiv Sena's Suhas Kande in Maharashtra be declared null and void.

BJP's Parag Alawani, who is the polling agent for party leader Piyush Goyal said that the objection was raised because two MLAs gave their ballot papers to the polling agents of their parties.

"Objection was raised because two MLAs gave their ballot papers to the polling agents of their parties which is a violation of rules. They can only show their ballots to their agents and cannot hand them over to anyone," he said.

BJP-JJP backed independent candidate Kartikeya Sharma wrote to ECI demanding the cancellation of votes of Congress MLAs Kiran Choudhry and BB Batra, due to "violation of the secrecy of votes in the Conduct of Election Rules 1961".

Congress candidate from Haryana, Ajay Maken wrote to the Election Commission of India, stating that the demand raised by BJP-JJP backed independent candidate Kartikeya Sharma be quashed and the results are declared at the earliest.

The counting of votes in Haryana is currently on hold. BJP met the Election Commission this evening over Haryana and Maharashtra, asking that "this election be declared null and void on basis of broken rules of secrecy in voting"

Of the total 90 members of the Haryana Assembly, 89 had cast their votes, officials said at the end of the polling, which began at 9 AM and concluded at 4 PM.

The polling to elect the members of the Upper House of the Parliament on 16 Rajya Sabha seats spread across four states took place today amid speculations of horse-trading and fears of cross-voting.

Notably, all 41 candidates from Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Telangana were elected unopposed on Friday after the biennial elections to 57 Rajya Sabha seats were announced recently.

However, polling for the 16 seats spread across states like Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Haryana and Karnataka was held today due to the number of candidates exceeding the seats.

( With inputs from ANI )

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