The Congress has raised serious concerns over the election results in Haryana, calling them “unexpected and shocking.” On Tuesday, hours after leads initially favoring the Congress turned into a victory for the BJP, senior Congress leaders expressed their discontent and skepticism over the counting process.
Earlier in the day, the Congress had written a formal letter to the Election Commission, raising alarms about an “unexplained slowdown” in the updating of election results for Haryana. The delay, they claimed, gave space for “bad-faith actors” to undermine the election process.
Jairam Ramesh, a senior Congress leader, voiced the party’s concerns in the letter. He wrote, “As you can imagine, this allows bad-faith actors to spin narratives that undermine the process. You can see examples of it already playing out on social media. Our fear is also that such narratives can then be used by these mala fide actors to influence processes where counting is still underway i.e. in most of the counting centres.”
The Election Commission, however, dismissed these allegations, stating that the results were being updated every five minutes across 25 rounds in each constituency. In their response, the Commission categorically rejected the Congress’s complaints, stating, “We unequivocally reject your (Mr. Ramesh’s) attempt to surreptitiously give credence to irresponsible, unfounded and uncorroborated malafide narratives.”
Congress Press Conference
Addressing the media later in the day, Jairam Ramesh said, “The results in Haryana are totally unexpected, completely surprising and counter-intuitive. It goes against the reality. It goes against what the people in Haryana had made their mind up for, which was for change and transformation.” He went on to call the election results “a victory for manipulation”, adding that “the chapter on Haryana is not complete.”
Ramesh emphasized that the Congress had a strong presence in the state and had expected to fare much better. The sudden shift in results raised suspicions of manipulation, which the Congress believes subverted the democratic process. He concluded by stating that the party would take further steps to ensure the integrity of the elections is upheld.
Interestingly, this is not the first time the Congress has raised concerns about electoral processes in Haryana. During the 2019 elections, Congress leaders also voiced complaints about the handling of the voting process, though the Election Commission dismissed those claims as well. This year, the party’s complaints are more focused on the delays in counting, particularly when early trends had shown the Congress leading in several constituencies.
Congress’s Letter to Election Commission
Earlier in the day, Congress wrote to the Election Commission (EC), alleging an “unexplained slowdown” in updating the results. According to the party, this delay created space for bad actors to manipulate narratives surrounding the election results. Jairam Ramesh, a senior Congress leader, voiced these concerns in the letter, stating:
“As you can imagine, this allows bad-faith actors to spin narratives that undermine the process. You can see examples of it already playing out on social media. Our fear is also that such narratives can then be used by these mala fide actors to influence processes where counting is still underway i.e. in most of the counting centres.”
However, the EC dismissed these claims, asserting that they were updating the results from 25 rounds in each constituency every five minutes. In response, the EC also stated, “We unequivocally reject your (Mr. Ramesh’s) attempt to surreptitiously give credence to irresponsible, unfounded, and uncorroborated malafide narratives.”
Pawan Khera’s Strong Remarks on Poll Outcome
Congress leader Pawan Khera took a strong stance on the results, characterizing them as a “victory for the system and defeat for democracy.” He noted that the party was in the process of compiling complaints from their candidates, many of whom had already submitted grievances to the returning officers at their constituencies. Khera said:
“If it is said in one line, this is the victory of the system and the defeat of democracy. We cannot accept this… We are collecting complaints. Our candidates have given complaints to the returning officers there and are still giving them. In the coming days, we will soon go to the Election Commission with all these complaints.”
Khera emphasized that the ground reality in Haryana did not align with the results and expressed surprise at how an “unexpected” outcome like this could occur in the state.
BJP’s Narrow Victory and Leading Trends
The BJP, despite facing challenges earlier in the day, secured victory in 31 seats, while Congress won 30. At the time of the report, the BJP was leading in 18 additional seats, and Congress in 6. Two independent candidates also secured victories. The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) trailed significantly, leading only in two constituencies.
Prominent winners included Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, Congress’s Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Vinesh Phogat, Aditya Surjewala, Mamman Khan, and Independent Savitri Jindal. Notably, Gian Chand Gupta, the Haryana speaker and BJP leader, as well as INLD’s Abhay Singh Chautala and Haryana Lokhit Party’s Gopal Kanda, were among the significant figures who lost.
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Additionally, controversies about EVM (Electronic Voting Machines) have occasionally been part of election narratives in India, especially in regions like Haryana where closely contested elections have occurred. Over the past few years, various political parties, including Congress, have raised doubts about EVM reliability, although the Election Commission has always defended the machines’ integrity. In Haryana’s case, similar concerns are resurfacing as the unexpected shift in results leads to renewed accusations from the opposition.
