New Delhi: After a completely unexpected defeat in the Haryana Assembly elections, the knives are out in the Congress. The faction-ridden Haryana Congress is trying to apportion blame on rival camps. Meanwhile, AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the Haryana results are unacceptable to the Congress. He claimed the results are inconsistent with ground reality, citing significant irregularities in counting.
Supported by party spokesperson Pawan Khera, Mr Ramesh highlighted issues with EVMs in Hisar, Mahendragarh and Panipat districts, and mentioned evidence is being collected and collated and would soon be presented to the Election Commission, questioning the transparency of the electoral process. He said: “I think under these circumstances, it is not possible for us to accept the results that have been announced today.” Mr Ramesh said what the Congress had seen today in Haryana was a victory for manipulation, “a victory for subverting the will of the people and it is a defeat for a transparent democratic processes”. The party claimed in almost ten seats the EVMs when taken out were almost fully charged.
During the day Jairam Ramesh had written to the EC on the issue of an “unexplained slowdown” in updating of results on the poll watchdog’s website and urged it to direct officials to update accurate figures so that “false news and malicious narratives” can be countered immediately. The EC said that the Congress’ allegations were “irresponsible, unfounded and uncorroborated malafide narratives”.
Congress Sirsa MP and former Union minister Kumari Selja, who largely stayed away from the party campaign, expressed disappointment over the party’s performance. In a veiled dig at former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda and his son Deepinder Hooda, Ms Selja questioned the accountability for the poll loss without naming them directly, and flagged the issue of coordination among leaders in the state. She said: “The results are disappointing. Until the morning, we were hopeful. All our workers are upset, they have worked for the last 10 years for the Congress Party and when such a result comes, there is a huge disappointment.” She asserted: “It will not be business as usual in Haryana and I am sure the Congress high command would identify those who negated the efforts to bring the party to power after 10 years”. She also underscored the necessity of pinpointing individuals who undermined the party's efforts to regain power in the state.
Many in the party are now openly gunning for state unit chief Uday Bhan and former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda. Leaders say these two leaders had a complete freehand in candidate selection and the campaign, and hence a message went out that the Congress was relying heavily on the Jat vote. The Jat vote is estimated to be almost 28 per cent in the state. This led to reverse polarisation against the Congress of non-Jat votes, which costed the party dear. The Dalit vote, on which the Congress was banking, also got divided and went to the BJP and other smaller parties.
When asked about infighting and sabotage as being the reason for the defeat, Mr Jairam Ramesh said: “The party will look into all aspects about the reasons of defeat.”