Polling ends in Haryana, BJP seeks cancellation of 2 Cong votes

Chandigarh, Jun 10 (PTI) BJP candidate Krishan Lal Panwar was all set to enter the Rajya Sabha from Haryana but there was uncertainty over the second seat going to the Congress as polling closed for the two seats on Friday.

The ruling BJP has sought the cancellation of ballots cast by Congress MLAs Kiran Choudhary and B B Batra for allegedly showing their preference of votes to several persons other than the party agent in violation of secrecy of votes.

Also, Independent legislator Balraj Kundu abstained from voting.

Of the total 90 members of the House, 89 cast their votes, officials said at the end of the polling.

While the BJP fielded former minister Krishan Lal Panwar, former Union minister Ajay Maken is the Congress nominee. Media baron Kartikeya Sharma entered the fray as an Independent backed by the BJP.

Panwar and Sharma have shot off a missive to the Election Commission, saying Choudhary and Batra showed their ballot papers to unauthorised persons after marking them.

A BJP delegation will meet officials of the commission in the evening in Delhi over this. The delegation will comprise Union ministers Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Jitendra Singh, sources said.

Maken also sent a representation to the EC in Delhi, terming the allegations levelled by the BJP and the Independent candidate "false and frivolous". He claimed there was no breach of secrecy or privacy by the two legislators of his party.

Congress' Kuldeep Bishnoi was among the first to cast their votes immediately after polling began at 9 am, while the majority of his party's legislators arrived here from Raipur via Delhi later in the day.

The Congress had shifted its MLAs to Raipur a week ago, fearing poaching of its legislators.

Independent MLA Balraj Kundu, who has been vocal against the BJP-led government on several issues, remained firm in his decision to abstain from voting. Home Minister Anil Vij and state BJP chief O P Dhankar went to Kundu's home to persuade him but were unsuccessful.

Kundu, the legislator from Meham, told reporters, "I received many offers, including monetary. But I decided to act as per my conscience." He alleged there have been many scams during the BJP-JJP government, and said he could not support the party or any candidate backed by it or its ally.

Kundu also hit out at the Congress for fielding Ajay Maken, saying, "The party insulted the people of Haryana by fielding an outsider." "Therefore, due to these reasons, I have decided not to cast my vote and abstain from voting," he said.

Bishnoi arrived here on Thursday evening from Delhi. He was not among the Congress MLAs who were lodged in the resort in Raipur.

On his way out of the venue after casting his vote, Bishnoi told reporters that he had voted "as per my conscience".

Congress MLA Kuldeep Vats later claimed that Bishnoi, the MLA from Adampur, had voted for the party's candidate.

Congress leader Deepender Singh Hooda, who accompanied his party MLAs from Delhi, claimed Ajay Maken would win comfortably.

"Our candidate will get more votes than the total strength of our MLAs," Hooda said. The Congress has 31 MLAs in the 90-member House.

Leaders of the BJP and JJP and some Independents meanwhile claimed that BJP candidate Panwar and Independent Kartikeya Sharma would win.

Haryana ministers, including J P Dalal and Anil Vij, too claimed that BJP and Independent candidates would emerge victorious.

Jannayak Janta Party leader Digvijay Chautala said the same.

The Rajya Sabha polls are seen as a prestige issue for former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda as the party only recently replaced Kumari Selja as its state unit chief with his loyalist Udai Bhan.

While the BJP with 40 MLAs in the 90-member Haryana Assembly has nine more than the 31 first preference votes required for a straight win, the contest has become keen for the second seat with the entry of media baron Kartikeya Sharma, an Independent.

Kartikeya has the backing of the BJP-JJP combine, most of the Independents, and Gopal Kanda, the lone MLA of the Haryana Lokhit Party.

The Congress has 31 members in the state Assembly, just enough to help its candidate win a seat.

The JJP, which is an ally of the BJP, has 10 legislators, while the Indian National Lok Dal and the Haryana Lokhit Party have one each. There are seven Independents.

The BJP-JJP too had shifted their MLAs to a resort in Chandigarh. They are attending a "training session" in connection with the voting process, Haryana BJP chief O P Dhankar had said.

Two Rajya Sabha seats from Haryana will fall vacant in August with the terms of media baron Subhash Chandra and BJP leader Dushyant Gautam expiring.

Kartikeya Sharma is the son of former Union minister Venod Sharma, who had been a minister in the erstwhile Bhupinder Singh Hooda-led government. Venod Sharma had later floated his own outfit, the Jan Chetna Party.