Congress leaders filed formal objections from 20 of the 90 constituencies in Haryana; additional formal complaints are anticipated shortly.
The main opposition Congress party in India has lodged a complaint with the election commission citing issues with the way the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was counting votes in state elections in Haryana.
The world’s most populous democracy, where the legitimacy of elections has rarely been questioned in recent decades, was remarkable in that it partially rejected the verdict, which awarded the BJP 48 state constituencies against the Congress’s 37.
Exit polls predicted that the northern breadbasket state will be won by the Congress. Previously, the Congress declared that the outcome was “totally unexpected, completely surprising, and counter-intuitive” and that it would not be accepted.
When senior Congressmen met with the Election Commission of India (ECI), they informed it of grievances from 20 of the 90 constituencies in the state, and they were given the assurance that their concerns would be looked into.
The party released a statement on Wednesday saying, “The Election Commission was handed over written complaints from seven constituencies while the remaining complaints will be submitted in another two days.”
That day, the electoral commission claimed that the Congress’s denial violated free expression standards in a letter to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge.
“Such an unprecedented statement … unheard in the rich democratic heritage of the country, is far from a legitimate part of free speech and moves towards an undemocratic rejection of the will of the people,” it stated.
Requests for feedback from the BJP were not immediately answered.
Accusing the electoral system
According to BJP spokesperson Anil Baluni, the reason the Congress lost was not because of any inconsistencies in the vote-counting process, but rather because it lost its relationship with the people in the state.
According to Indian law, candidates can file complaints and seek remedies about counting irregularities with the ECI. They can appeal to the courts if they’re not happy with its response.
Modi’s first popularity test since he returned to the prime ministership in June for a record-breaking third consecutive term—albeit with the assistance of allies—after missing out on an absolute majority—came during the Haryana elections.
Without providing any supporting data, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi stated last month that he did not see this year’s general elections as a free contest but rather as one that was set up to benefit Modi. Gandhi’s family has produced three prime ministers for India.
The BJP will benefit politically from its victory in Haryana, which comes just before regional elections in the mineral-rich state of Jharkhand and western Maharashtra.
Although the dates of those elections are unknown, they are anticipated to take place in November.
