After the Rajya Sabha elections saw cross-voting and large-scale manipulation on Saturday, the Congress has alleged that there was deliberate fraud in the election by switching the pen meant for marking the votes, so as to make the Congress votes invalid. As many as 14 Congress legislators in Haryana “invalidated” their votes leading to victory of BJP-backed Independent candidate and media baron Satish Chandra.
While Congress will approach the Election Commission to protest against the “misuse of Government machinery” in the Rajya Sabha elections for two seats in the State, former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda against whom party insiders have leveled charges of a sabotage , has demanded a thorough inquiry by the Election Commission, including a forensic examination of the pens with which the votes were cast.
AICC general secretary BK Hariprasad said they will approach the Election Commission on Monday and demand countermanding of election to both Rajya Sabha seats from Haryana. Asked whether the party suspected internal sabotage in the elections including by Hooda, he replied in negative. Hooda said there has been a “big conspiracy” and the truth should come out.
Hariprasad alleged that there was deliberate fraud in the election by switching the pen meant for marking the votes so as to make the Congress votes invalid. The votes of 14 Congress MlAs were declared invalid leading to the loss of R K Anand who was otherwise expected to win.
The defeat of Anand came as a bolt from the blue for the Congress and its high command, which was confident that its strategy to trounce BJP-backed media baron and independent candidate Subhash Chandra would succeed.
Anand has since blamed Hooda and said that barring one, all the rest 18 INlD legislators had cast vote in his favour, “but Hooda and party of the Congress have ditched”.
On Friday, the Congress legislature Party at its meeting had authorised party chief Sonia Gandhi to decide on whom to vote for and she had directed voting in favour of Anand. Hooda was not initially in favour of Anand as he was backed by INlD, the rival party in Haryana.
“Never before I have heard or even imagined that conspiracy of this level could be hatched. I can say with firm belief that a conspiracy was hatched to enable victory of BJP-backed candidate (media baron Subhash Chandra),” Hooda told reporters at Chandigarh. Demanding forensic examination of the pens used to cast votes, Hooda said the Election Commission should conduct a thorough inquiry.
Both Congress and INlD have pointed fingers at each other after 14 votes, which according to Haryana's Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma and leader of Opposition Abhay Chautala were of the Congress, were found to be invalid.
Meanwhile, BJP leader Gian Chand Gupta claimed senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala's vote was cancelled after BJP complained that he had shown his vote to Congress legislative party chief in Haryana Kiran Choudhary. Only two leaders from the Congress were authorised to see party votes — Surjewala himself and Congress’ central observer Hariprasad.