Haryana Rajya Sabha Polls: BJP and Congress Win One Seat Each

Haryana: The results of the elections for two Rajya Sabha seats in Haryana are finally out, and as it seemed from numbers, BJP and Congress have divided one seat each. BJP's Sanjay Bhatia won easily, while Congress's Karamveer Singh Boudh had to struggle a bit but he also won. Independent candidate Satish Nandal (who had BJP's backup) lost, missing by one vote or value.

Who won and how many votes did they get?

• Sanjay Bhatia (BJP) – His victory was already certain because BJP has 48 MLAs. He got a good amount of votes (around 3900 value).
• Karamveer Singh Baudh (Congress) – He got around 2800 votes, which was more than the 2767 required for victory. Congress has 37 MLAs, but the matter remained a bit tight due to some cross-voting and 4-5 votes being cancelled.
• Satish Nandal (Independent)—He got only 2733 values, which means he lost by just one or two votes. Overall this game took place in 83 valid votes.

Was it fixed, or was it drama?

BJP's seat was confirmed because they have majority. But there was a bit of a twist on the Congress seat – Congress alleged that BJP tried to influence the MLAs, BJP hit back and said that some Congress MLAs broke confidentiality. During voting, 5 votes were canceled (4 from Congress, 1 from BJP?). Counting was delayed – it was supposed to start at 5 pm, but it went on till 1-2 am. Both parties reached the Election Commission with complaints, but eventually the results were declared.

Why was the independent candidate not allowed?

Satish Nandal was the vice president of BJP, but contested as an independent. It was expected that they would benefit from some cross-voting, but MLAs mostly stuck to the party line. Perhaps even BJP did not give him full support, or Congress kept its line strict. 

What effect will this have on the politics of Haryana?

At present no major changes are visible – both the major parties are satisfied, taking one seat each. But it shows that Congress was able to show its unity (winning despite cross-voting), while BJP has a strong majority. Tension will increase in the upcoming local elections or the next big contest. This small victory is a moral booster for Congress, and for BJP the strength of majority has been proved again.