Chandigarh, March 17 (NationPress) In a significant turn of events, the ruling BJP and the principal opposition party, Congress, each secured one seat during the elections for two Rajya Sabha positions in Haryana. The elections were marked by intense drama, with numerous complaints and allegations concerning violations of vote confidentiality and instances of cross-voting.

The BJP's Sanjay Bhatia and the Congress's Karamvir Boudh emerged victorious.

Meanwhile, the BJP-supported Independent candidate Satish Nandal faced a setback. A total of eighty-eight legislators participated in the voting process, while two members of the Indian National Lok Dal, Arjun Chautala and Aditya Devilal, abstained.

Within the Assembly, which comprises 90 members, the BJP holds 48 seats, the Congress has 37, the INLD possesses 2, and Independents occupy 3.

As the vote counting concluded at 4 p.m. on Monday, leaders from both parties proclaimed victory for their candidates. Nonetheless, the counting process commenced late that night following approval from the Election Commission of India.

Congress President and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, reached out to the Chief Election Commissioner, alleging attempts to undermine the election's integrity. He emphasized the urgency of the situation, requesting a meeting with a party delegation before the results were announced. In retaliation, the BJP accused two Congress legislators, Paramvir Singh and Bharat Singh Beniwal, of breaching vote secrecy.

The Congress party pointed fingers at Transport Minister Anil Vij regarding these violations.

The first vote of the day was cast by Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini. Former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, announced that his party's candidate had triumphed in one of the two available seats.

“This is our victory,” he stated to reporters. In anticipation of cross-voting, the Congress party, which consists of 37 legislators in the 90-member Assembly, relocated its MLAs to various resorts and hotels in Himachal Pradesh. Six legislators opted not to travel to Himachal for personal reasons. On the previous night, the Congress moved 31 legislators from Shimla to Kasauli. Accompanied by party General Secretary and Haryana in-charge, B.K. Hariprasad, and Rohtak MP Deepender Hooda, the lawmakers were escorted directly to Chandigarh from their hotel under tight security.

The two Rajya Sabha seats became vacant as BJP members Kiran Choudhry and Ram Chander Jangra are set to conclude their terms on April 9.

Historically, there have been two instances of vote cancellations during Rajya Sabha elections that impacted the results. In 2016, 14 Congress MLAs' votes were invalidated due to the use of non-prescribed pens, which led to the victory of Independent candidate Subhash Chandra, who was backed by the BJP. In 2022, one Congress MLA's vote was also deemed invalid, resulting in Ajay Maken losing to BJP-supported Independent candidate Kartikeya Sharma.