After defeats marked by cross-voting row, Congress ends Rajya Sabha jinx in Haryana

Chandigarh: Karamvir Boudh's victory has helped the Congress shed its reputation of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory in contested Rajya Sabha elections.The party's last two successful RS elections were when former Union minister Kumari Selja and Deepinder Singh Hooda were elected unopposed in 2014 and 2020. The party's first debacle came in June 2016. Backed by both Congress and the INLD, senior advocate R K Anand was expected to defeat media mogul Subhash Chandra. However, the election descended into controversy when Anand lost despite the favourable numbers. Allegations surfaced regarding a "clandestine" swap of the official violet sketch pen used to mark ballots. Anand claimed the official pen was surreptitiously replaced to invalidate opposition votes, leading to an EC recommendation for a police probe into the irregularities. The Chandigarh Police had also registered an FIR. The second instance was in June 2022. The fight was between Congress veteran Ajay Maken and BJP's Krishan Lal Panwar. However, independent candidate Kartikeya Sharma, backed by BJP, had also filed his nomination. While the Congress held 31 MLAs — theoretically enough to secure Maken's seat—a combination of internal rebellion and technical errors proved fatal. The final tally saw Panwar securing 31 votes, Maken 29 and Kartikeya 28 votes, with a total of 88 votes polled in the 90-member House. The path to victory was cleared for Sharma through the transfer of "second preference" votes. After the BJP's Panwar secured his seat, his surplus 1.66 votes were transferred to Sharma. Even defection by Kuldeep Bishnoi and cross-voting in favour of BJP candidate could not have much effect on Makan's prospects. However, the disqualification of one Congress MLA's vote shifted the quota, allowing Sharma to overtake Maken with a final fractional score of 29.66 to 29.00. MSID:: 129630317 413 |