The unrest in the Haryana unit of the Congress over the alleged cross-voting of its five MLAs in the recent Rajya Sabha polls continues to grow with growing calls for action even against those legislators whose votes were declared invalid and senior party leaders if they are involved.
Two days after the Congress issued show-cause notices to five legislators for cross-voting, including Hathin MLA Chaudhary Mohd Israil, his son Nazim Chaudhary on Sunday sought action against the four MLAs whose votes were declared invalid. Similar demands were also made by former politician and party politician Julana MLA Vinesh Phogat and Badli MLA Kuldeep Vats.
“Five MLAs cross-voted in Haryana, four votes were declared invalid. Names of these four were not published. I think their names should also be published. MLAs are given proper training to vote in Rajya Sabha elections. These mistakes (sending invalid votes) are deliberate. I think action must be initiated against all nine MLAs, which was initiated against my father. Action must be also involving my father. ANI, announcing that he had severed all ties with his father and uncle, a senior police officer, for their alleged involvement in it.
Referring to previous instances of Congress Rajya Sabha candidates losing in Haryana despite the party having the required numbers, Mr. Chaudhary said, “Even if some big leaders are involved, action should be taken against them as well. Now it is completely over the top. This is happening for the third time.”
Apart from Mr. Israil, the party has also issued show cause notices to Muhammad Ilyas, Renu Bal, Shalley Chaudhary and Jarnail Singh in this regard.
Responding to a question, former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who visited Mr. Vats at his residence on Sunday, said four Congress votes were “forcefully” declared invalid. However, Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee President Rao Narender Singh told The Hindu over phone that action would also be initiated against those whose votes were declared invalid if the party came across any strong evidence against them.
In an attempt to crack down on those whose votes were declared invalid, Ms Phogat, in a post on “X” on March 18, wrote: “Whether the votes were crossed or cancelled, the intention was the same in both cases – it is up to the party. Nothing happens without reason in such situations; there should be no ifs and buts and the party should act with that mindset.”
With two more Rajya Sabha seats in Haryana coming up in 2028, the party high command seems to be treading cautiously on any action against party MLAs, avoiding any hasty action that could spoil the party’s prospects in the upcoming Upper House elections.
Published – 23 March 2026 03:15 IST
