Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Bhupinder Singh Hooda during a rally ahead of the Haryana Assembly elections, in Mahendragarh district, on October 3, 2024. (PTI)
Rahul Gandhi said the party is analyzing the Haryana results and will approach the Election Commission on the complaints of party workers from several constituencies.
Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has finally reacted to the Assembly election results from Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir. While Gandhi termed the National Conference-Congress alliance’s win as a victory for the Constitution, he said the party was analyzing the Haryana results and would approach the Election Commission on the grievances of party workers from several constituencies.
“Thank you very much to the people of Jammu and Kashmir – INDIA’s victory in that state is a victory for the Constitution, a victory for our democratic self-respect,” Gandhi said as the alliance won polls in the union territory.
On Haryana, Gandhi said, “We are analyzing the unexpected results from Haryana. We will inform the Election Commission about the complaints coming from many assembly constituencies.
“We sincerely thank all the citizens of Haryana for their support and the employees of Babbar Sher for their tireless hard work. We will continue this struggle for rights, for social and economic justice, for truth, and will continue to raise your voice,” he said.
Congress Alleged Irregularity in Haryana results
Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, senior Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh and Pawan Khera blamed EVMs – a regular Congress grouse – and said the party had lost seats “where there was no chance of losing”.
“We are getting constant complaints (from Haryana). We are told that EVMs with 99 per cent battery lead to losses, while we win when voters choose machines with 60-70 per cent battery.
Ramesh said: “Ye tantra ki jeet hai aur loktantra ki haar. We have been continuously complaining to the KPU since noon. We will present our complaint to the EC. Serious questions have been raised by our candidate and this result is not in accordance with the wishes of the people of Haryana. such a situation, we cannot accept the result.
The Congress on Tuesday filed a formal complaint with the Election Commission of India (ECI) over the delay in publishing the Haryana Assembly election results, with Ramesh calling the tactic a “mind game”. The allegations came after a dramatic turnaround as the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) returned to victory in the state after early trends showed it leading the Congress.
EC Rejects Congress Charges
The Election Commission, meanwhile, dismissed the Congress’ allegations, terming them “irresponsible, baseless and uncorroborated malafide narratives”.
ECI sources told News18 that the allegations are baseless and the trend is constantly updated on the website. The poll body also said during the Lok Sabha elections, it responded to Abhishek Manu Singhvi when the same allegations were made.
BJP Fires Salvos Against Rahul Gandhi
The BJP continued to attack Gandhi for “spreading lies”. BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar said, “You have to see the difference between Congress and BJP, our leader and Rahul Gandhi, when we lost the election, we acknowledged and congratulated the winning party. But Rahul Gandhi lied and did politics of division. When he was thrown out , he will disappear. The chosen few who handle him, advise him to stay mum during such a situation.
“He did the same thing in Wayanad, when people asked for his job, he said that ED will arrest him. I can predict that he will come with something new in next 2-3 days, and try to divert the topic. This is Rahul Gandhi’s politics and people are now out,” he said.
Earlier too, the BJP took jibes at Gandhi, who did not react to Tuesday’s assembly poll results and was nowhere to be found.
“If humility and lack of grace has a face, it must be Rahul Gandhi. A few hours after the defeat in Haryana, Rahul Gandhi, the supreme leader of the Congress party, has not found time to thank the voters or the workers. He does not have the courtesy to greet to the NC leader for his performance in Kashmir. No social media post, no media statement. But what else can be expected from a person who has never congratulated the longest-serving non-Congress PM, who won the third term yet. before? Gandhis sense of entitlement is nauseating,” BJP leader Amit Malviya posted on X (before Twitter), on Tuesday.
