Chandigarh, March 19 (NationPress) On Thursday, the Haryana Congress Legislature Party presented a memorandum to the Governor, highlighting the suspected collusion between the BJP and the Election Officer during the Rajya Sabha elections for two seats.

The memorandum indicated that the Legislative Assembly consists of 90 members, with 48 from the BJP, 37 from the Congress, 2 from the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), and 3 Independent MLAs.

A total of 31 votes were necessary to secure a Rajya Sabha seat.

Typically, both the BJP and Congress were expected to win one seat each. Nonetheless, in a surprising twist, the BJP nominated its Vice-President, Satish Nandal, as an Independent candidate, backed by seven BJP MLAs who served as proposers.

The Congress described this as a clear case of political manipulation, coercion, intimidation, institutional pressure, and misuse of state resources by the ruling party.

The memorandum accused the Election Officer (Returning Officer), Pankaj Agarwal, of exhibiting bias and partisanship.

It claimed that valid votes from Congress MLAs were declared invalid, while votes for the BJP and the Independent candidate were accepted, with valid objections from Congress vote-counting agents being dismissed.

The Congress also filed a complaint with the Election Commission regarding these issues.

The Congress Legislature Party urged the Governor, as the constitutional protector of the state, to initiate an inquiry into this 'unethical and undemocratic conduct', guide the government to uphold democratic integrity, and ensure that appropriate disciplinary actions are taken against the Election Officer.

“This occurrence not only diminishes the respect for the Haryana Legislative Assembly but also raises significant concerns about the integrity of democracy across the nation. The Congress stands united with the citizens of the state and will persist in its fight against this anti-democratic scheme. The Governor has acknowledged the situation and promised that suitable action will be taken,” stated Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Hooda during a media interaction.

Legislator Bharat Bhushan Batra asserted that the BJP introduced a third candidate solely to manipulate the election.

“It is apparent that the second candidate was also affiliated with the BJP. Therefore, the BJP devised a plan to guarantee the success of its second candidate by any means necessary, utilizing strategies that included persuasion, inducement, coercion, and division,” Hooda emphasized.