Decoding loss of Cong’s Maken
CHANDIGARH: The upset caused by BJP backed independent candidate, Kartikeya Sharma in the Rajya Sabha elections for the two seats from Haryana did not come without help from the Congress.
While the BJP candidate Krishan Lal Panwar won comfortably securing 36 first preference votes, Kartikeya romped home despite getting 23 first preference votes as against 29 first preference votes of Congress candidate, Ajay Maken.
Election officials said that Panwar needed 30 votes to win and his six-plus votes were transferred to Kartikeya Sharma (who was the second preference in all 36) who edged out Maken. Maken did not get any second preference votes, and Sharma was declared the winner.
Since all 31 Congress MLAS voted on Friday, Maken should have won the second Upper House seat comfortably. However, it was not to be. Congress MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi is believed to have switch sides to vote for Kartikeya while the ballot of another Congress legislator was declared invalid for being marked improperly.
On Saturday, Kuldeep Bishnoi retweeted journalist Sudhir Bishnoi’s tweet: “A decision taken at the right time is what separates a man from the crowd.”
Congress Legislature Party leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda said that he did not know whose vote was declared invalid.
Congress in charge for Haryana, Vivek Bansal who was the party’s authorised agent on being asked as to whose vote was declared invalid said that he could not spot it when the ballots were being shown to him by the party MLAS during the polling. “I could spot that Kuldeep Bishnoi has cross voted and shouted about it. But a tick was put on the ballot paper by one of the MLAS making it invalid and it missed my eye. I am quite shocked.”