Haryana Rajya Sabha election: Counting paused amid cross-objections by BJP and Congress
Chandigarh, March 17
Voting for the Rajya Sabha elections has been halted due to objections to two Congress votes. BJP's Gaurav Gautam and Kishan Bedi have objected to both votes. Congress has also objected to Minister Anil Vij's vote.
The counting has been halted for over an hour. Gaurav Gautam is also the polling agent for the BJP, and Kishan Bedi is the election agent for the BJP.
On the counting for the Rajya Sabha elections being halted, Leader of the Opposition in the Haryana Assembly and Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda says, "Permission needs to be taken from the Election Commission of India before starting the counting..."
On the Rajya Sabha elections, Haryana BJP President Mohan Lal Badoli said, "It seems some miracle will happen in this voting of Haryana. Our demand is that elections should be held fairly. We demand that if anyone has made a mistake in any way, their mistakes should also be investigated. We challenged two votes; they (Congress) challenged one vote in the same way..."
Meanwhile, in the elections, Haryana Congress MLA Geeta Bhukkal said, "Our Congress seat is absolutely certain. The BJP tried its best, and they are in power. The Election Commission is under pressure from the government somewhere. No objections were made at that time. There was no spontaneous reaction, no objections. When they realised that Congress was winning the elections convincingly, they filed objections. We also filed an objection regarding Anil Vij's vote... Wherever Congress or the opposition is winning, they have adopted tactics to delay election results. So, the objections filed here went to the Election Commission of India."
"We hope a fair report and video are sent from here so that they can give a fair decision. It is the Election Commission's duty to conduct free and fair elections. Our candidate, Karmveer Singh Baudh, will comfortably win the seat...," she added.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Watching from abroad, it's interesting to see the procedural challenges. Objections are part of a healthy democracy, but the delay must be minimized. Hope the Election Commission resolves this impartially.
Geeta Bhukkal's point about pressure on the EC is concerning. If true, it undermines our democracy. We need institutions that are truly independent, not just in name. A fair investigation into all objections is a must.
Typical political games before every result. BJP objects to two votes, Congress objects to one. Both sides are just trying to gain an edge. The common citizen just wants a stable government and development, not this tamasha.
Hooda ji is correct. Everything must follow the EC's protocol. Rushing or manipulating the counting process sets a dangerous precedent. Let the rules be followed, whoever wins, wins.
The claim that objections are only raised when one side is losing is a serious allegation. It highlights a potential weakness in the system. Transparency in the objection process itself would build more trust.
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.