Lagatar24 Desk
NEW DELHI: The Congress party has raised serious concerns over the unexpected election results in Haryana, questioning the transparency of the counting process. Hours after early trends indicated a potential win for Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) surged ahead, securing a comprehensive victory. Congress, in response, expressed shock and dismay, asserting that it could not accept the outcome.
Earlier in the day, the Congress had sent a letter to the Election Commission, flagging what they described as an “unexplained slowdown” in updating the Haryana election results. Jairam Ramesh, a senior Congress leader, highlighted the issue in the letter, claiming that the delay was allowing “bad-faith actors” to create misleading narratives on social media, undermining the electoral process.
Election Commission Responds
The Election Commission promptly responded to Congress’s allegations, categorically rejecting the claims. The poll body explained that approximately 25 rounds of counting across all constituencies were being updated every five minutes. In its official statement, the Election Commission dismissed any doubts raised by Congress, stating that it “unequivocally rejects your (Mr. Ramesh’s) attempt to surreptitiously give credence to irresponsible, unfounded and uncorroborated malafide narratives.”
Congress Press Conference
Addressing the press around 5 pm, Jairam Ramesh expressed disbelief at the results, calling them “unexpected” and “counter-intuitive.” He further stated that the results did not reflect the sentiments of the people in Haryana, who had reportedly been seeking change. Ramesh questioned the credibility of the process and accused the BJP of subverting the will of the people.
“The results in Haryana are totally unexpected and shocking,” Ramesh said. “It goes against the reality and the expectations of the people who wanted transformation. Under these circumstances, it is not possible for us to accept the results that have been announced today. What we have seen today in Haryana is a victory for manipulation and a defeat for transparent, democratic processes.”
Complaints Over EVM Functionality
Ramesh also indicated that serious complaints had been raised regarding the functioning of electronic voting machines (EVMs) in at least three districts in Haryana. He assured that more information was being gathered and would be presented to the Election Commission for further investigation.
“We have received very serious complaints about the process of counting, the functioning of EVMs. This information is being collected, and we hope to present this to the Election Commission soon,” Ramesh added.
‘Victory Snatched’
When asked if the Congress needed to introspect, especially since 16 of its sitting MLAs lost their seats, Ramesh acknowledged that introspection would come in time. However, he maintained that the primary issue was that “victory has been snatched” from the Congress through manipulation of the system.
He reiterated the party’s commitment to raising these concerns with the Election Commission and emphasized that the chapter on Haryana’s elections was far from over.
