Haryana RS election ends in tight finish, BJP and Congress secure one seat each

The Haryana Rajya Sabha elections concluded in a tense late-night finish, with the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Indian National Congress securing one seat each. BJP candidate Sanjay Bhatia and Congress nominee Karamvir Singh Boudh were declared elected by the returning officer after counting stretched past midnight.

The contest saw participation from 88 MLAs in the 90-member assembly, with two legislators from the Indian National Lok Dal abstaining. Out of the total votes cast, 83 were declared valid, while five ballots were rejected, including four from Congress MLAs and one from the BJP.

BJP’s Sanjay Bhatia secured 39 first-preference votes, translating to a vote value of 3900, comfortably crossing the required quota of 2767. His surplus votes played a crucial role in the redistribution process, influencing the outcome of the second seat in the election.

Congress candidate Karamvir Singh Boudh received 28 first-preference votes, giving him a vote value of 2800. Meanwhile, BJP-backed Independent candidate Satish Nandal secured 16 first-preference votes, with a total value of 1600. After adding surplus votes transferred from Bhatia, Nandal’s tally reached 2733, falling short of Boudh’s total.

The final result highlighted a closely fought contest, with the Congress candidate edging past the BJP-backed Independent by a narrow margin. The outcome also reflected the impact of invalid votes and abstentions, which played a decisive role in shaping the final tally in the high-stakes election.