The Congress party has taken disciplinary action against four of its legislators in Haryana for allegedly voting against the party line during the recent Rajya Sabha election. The MLAs have been served show-cause notices and asked to explain their conduct within seven days.
The leaders who received the notices are Renu Bala, Shelly Chaudhary, Mohammad Ilyas and Mohammad Israil. The party suspects that these members cross-voted in favour of a BJP-backed independent candidate, which led to complications in what was initially expected to be a straightforward contest.
Apart from this, the Congress has also indicated that it may act against those whose votes were declared invalid. However, identifying the legislators responsible for invalid votes is proving difficult. The party is likely to examine CCTV footage and use other methods to determine accountability before taking further steps.
The Rajya Sabha election in Haryana, held on Monday, concluded late at night after vote counting extended past midnight due to several objections raised by both BJP and Congress. Both parties secured one seat each in the contest.
BJP candidate Sanjay Bhatia and Congress nominee Karamvir Boudh were declared elected by the returning officer. The presence of independent candidate Satish Nandal, who is also a BJP leader, made the contest more competitive than expected.
Five votes declared invalid
According to the final results, Boudh secured 28 votes, while Nandal received 16. A total of 88 MLAs participated in the voting process. Out of these, 83 votes were found to be valid, while five were rejected. Among the invalid votes, four were reportedly from Congress MLAs and one from the BJP.
There were also reports that five votes from Congress legislators were cast in favour of the BJP-backed independent candidate, further intensifying the political controversy surrounding the election.
