How Infighting Cost Congress Dear In Haryana Rajya Sabha Polls

The Rajya Sabha elections in Haryana have once again exposed deep cracks within the Congress, with internal factionalism significantly undermining the party's prospects and indirectly benefiting an Independent candidate.

Tensions between senior Congress leaders Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Kumari Selja resurfaced during the polls, raising serious concerns about unity within the state unit. The fallout was visible in the voting pattern, where at least five Congress MLAs allegedly cross-voted, while four others saw their ballots declared invalid.

Party insiders have pointed fingers at leadership failures, arguing that Hooda, as Leader of Opposition and a seasoned figure, should have ensured tighter coordination within the party. However, the blame game has only deepened divisions, with the Hooda camp reportedly accusing the Selja faction of engineering the cross-voting episode.

Amid the controversy, the Congress high command is now said to be compiling a list of MLAs suspected of cross-voting in an attempt to identify those responsible for denting the party's Rajya Sabha bid.

The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) stayed away from the voting process. Party leaders Abhay Singh Chautala and Aditya Devi Lal said the decision to abstain was taken in view of public sentiment, though their absence also played a role in shaping the final outcome.

Numbers That Tell The Story

Out of the 90-member Haryana Assembly, two INLD MLAs did not participate, while five votes - four from Congress and one from the BJP - were declared invalid. This brought the effective contest down, with the winning mark set at 28 votes.

BJP candidate Sanjay Bhatia comfortably secured the first seat with 39 first-preference votes, leaving a surplus of 11 votes.

The real contest unfolded on the second seat, where Congress' Karamvir Singh Boudh managed to get the required 28 votes, and Independent candidate Satish Nandal fell short with 16 votes.

However, the arithmetic reveals how close the contest truly was.

With 11 surplus votes from Bhatia potentially transferable as second preferences, Nandal could have reached 27 votes - just one short of victory. Had even one more Congress MLA cross-voted, or had the BJP's invalid vote remained valid, the Independent candidate might have pulled off a surprise win.

Congress infighting gave full benefit to the Independent candidate. Out of Congress' 37 MLAs, five leaders allegedly cross-voted, and four votes were declared invalid. That means nine votes went out from Congress's kitty.

A Pattern Repeating Itself

This is not the first time Congress infighting has cost the party dearly in Haryana.

In the previous Rajya Sabha election, cross-voting by leaders like Kiran Choudhry and Kuldeep Bishnoi led to the defeat of Congress' Ajay Maken and the victory of Independent candidate Kartikeya Sharma.

Both leaders had later joined the BJP.

Senior party leaders now warn that failure to act decisively against indiscipline could further weaken Congress in the state.

With factional rivalries continuing to overshadow electoral strategy, the party risks repeating past mistakes - at a time when unity is crucial for its political survival in Haryana.