Rajya Sabha Polls: Cong Down in Haryana As Maken Loses to BJP-Backed Media Baron

Congress candidate and senior leader Ajay Maken, who had been touted to win by the party, lost by a small margin.

In a major defeat for the Congress, the BJP's Krishan Lal Panwar and the saffron party-backed Independent candidate Kartikeya Sharma were declared elected for the two Rajya Sabha seats from Haryana in the wee hours of Saturday, 11 June, after overnight counting of votes.

(Photo Courtesy: Facebook/Ajay Maken)

In a major defeat for the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party's Krishan Lal Panwar and the saffron party-backed Independent candidate Kartikeya Sharma were elected for the two Rajya Sabha seats from Haryana in the wee hours of Saturday, 11 June, after overnight vote-counting.

Congress candidate and senior leader Ajay Maken, who had been touted to win by the party, lost the polls by a small margin.

The counting of votes began past midnight and the results were announced after 2 am on Saturday. The Congress said one of its MLAs, Kuldeep Bishnoi, cross-voted while the vote of an MLA was declared invalid.

"We were ahead of Independent candidate under preference 1. We objected that 1 vote which was given to independent should be cancelled. Unfortunately our vote was cancelled and their rejected vote was accepted. We're getting this examined legally," Maken was quoted as saying by ANI on Saturday.

Speaking to reporters in the Vidhan Sabha complex shortly after 4 am, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said, "I thank all those MLAs who voted for the BJP candidate and the Independent candidate. This in a way is a victory for the people of Haryana and a victory of democracy."

Replying to a question on Congress' Kuldeep Bishnoi voting for Sharma, who is a media baron, Khattar said, "He (Kuldeep Bishnoi) voted listening to his inner conscience. I can say that he must have voted after being influenced by the policies and achievements of the Modi government. He did not bother about what action the Congress will take...I congratulate him," Khattar was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

The chief minister and BJP leader also said that the party would welcome Bishnoi if he wishes to join it, and that the doors are also open for Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

Allegations of Violations, a Small Margin Spelt Loss for Maken

To win a Rajya Sabha seat in Haryana, 31 votes were needed and the Congress had its own 31 MLAs. Yet, its candidate Ajay Maken lost.

Counting of votes in Haryana, which had been scheduled to begin at 5 pm, was heavily delayed over allegations of violations of polling rules.

The counting was put on hold after the BJP and Sharma wrote to the Election Commission (EC) alleging violation of rules and demanded the votes of two Congress MLAs – Kiran Choudhary and BB Batra – be declared invalid as they had allegedly showed their ballot papers to unauthorised persons after marking them.

Meanwhile, Congress MLA and the party's authorised polling agent BB Batra said while the vote of a party MLA was declared invalid, MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi cross-voted for Sharma.

According to Election Commission officials, Congress candidate Ajay Maken got 29 votes, while Panwar got 36. and Sharma got 29.6.

Returning Officer RK Nandal said that Independent candidate Kartikeya Sharma got 23 first preference votes and 6.6 transferred votes from the BJP, taking his tally to 29.6.

Eighty-nine of a total of 90 MLAs in Haryana had cast their votes while Independent MLA Balraj Kundu had abstained.