In a high-stakes midnight cliffhanger, the Congress narrowly secured one of Haryana’s two Rajya Sabha seats on Tuesday, surviving a major internal rebellion and invalid ballots. Despite holding a comfortable majority on paper, the party’s candidate, Karamvir Singh Boudh, scraped through only after a nine-hour counting delay.
BJP’s Sanjay Bhatia clinched the first seat with ease, polling 39 first-preference votes. However, the battle for the second seat between Boudh and BJP-backed Independent Satish Nandal exposed deep fractures within the Congress Legislature Party (CLP).
The numbers game
The final tally revealed a narrow escape for the opposition as Boudh polled 28 votes and Nandal 16 votes.
In the 90-member House, 88 votes were polled after two INLD MLAs abstained.
Returning officer Pankaj Agrawal declared five ballots invalid, four from the Congress and one from the BJP.
Sabotage from within
The Congress’s numerical edge of 37 MLAs was eroded by five legislators who cross-voted for Nandal.
Party sources confirmed the rebels included two Meo-Muslim legislators, a Sikh MLA, and two women MLAs from northern Haryana. Because Rajya Sabha polls use an open ballot, Congress agents identified the defectors immediately.
The math was razor-thin. Had one more Congress MLA defected, Boudh’s tally would have dropped to 27, while Nandal—bolstered by Bhatia’s 11 surplus votes—would have reached 28, overtaking the Congress nominee.
Midnight drama at EC
Counting, originally scheduled for 4 p.m. on Monday, only commenced at 10.30pm after both parties approached the Election Commission (EC) alleging violations of ballot secrecy.
The BJP specifically challenged the votes of Congress MLAs Paramvir Singh and Bharat Singh Beniwal. After reviewing video footage, the EC invalidated Paramvir Singh’s vote. Simultaneously, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge petitioned chief election commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, alleging a “transparent attempt to taint the process” and urging the commission not to disqualify legitimate votes.
The aftermath
By 1.07am on Tuesday, the results were official. A relieved Congress legislature Party leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda claimed victory over the BJP’s “intent to engineer an upset.”
“The BJP’s plan to use an Independent candidate to subvert the mandate was foiled by our loyalists,” Hooda said. However, the rebellion marks a grim postscript for the Haryana Congress, which is still reeling from its loss in the 2024 assembly polls.
