Congress loses pole position among allies in Maharashtra, Jharkhand Premium
The Hindu
Congress questions integrity of Haryana election results, vows to challenge outcome, impacting party's future prospects in north India.
The Assembly election results in Haryana are “surprising, against popular sentiment and cannot be accepted”, the Congress said on Tuesday (October 8, 2024) after it suffered a shock defeat in the north Indian State for the third time in a row.
Questioning the “integrity” of the counting process at a press conference, Congress general secretary (communication) Jairam Ramesh and his colleague, Pawan Khera, alleged that party candidates lost from constituencies where the batteries of the electronic voting machines displayed “99% battery life” as against 60-70%. There were 12 to 14 constituencies from where complaints were received and the party would take these up with the Election Commission, they added.
Haryana Assembly Election results LIVE updates
“The Congress has not lost, but was made to lose. One has not heard the last on the Haryana results,” Mr. Ramesh said, adding, “Under these circumstances, it is not possible for us to accept these results (in Haryana)... there are serious issues raised by our candidates which we will raise with the EC.”
On the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) results, Mr. Ramesh said: “People have given a befitting reply to those who trampled upon J&K’s respect by taking away its statehood. The NC-Congress government will make all efforts for the restoration of J&K’s statehood.”
But the shock defeat in Haryana and a below par performance in J&K, contrary to exit poll projections, raises questions about its immediate as well as long term political implications.
The Haryana loss has put a pause to the narrative that the Congress, under the leadership of Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, is on the path of revival. Since 2018, Himachal Pradesh is the only State in north India that the Congress has won, and the latest setback will have an impact on the party’s poll prospects in Delhi and Punjab.
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