- By Nidhi Giri
- Tue, 17 Mar 2026 12:53 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Haryana Rajya Sabha Polls: In a dramatic election for two Rajya Sabha seats in Haryana on Monday, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress won one seat each. BJP candidate Sanjay Bhatia's victory was a foregone conclusion, but Congress candidate Karmveer Singh Bauddh had to struggle hard to win. He defeated BJP-backed independent candidate Satish Nandal by a margin of just three votes.
At around 1:15 am, the BJP's Sanjay Bhatia and Congress's Karmaveer Bauddh were confirmed winners, however, the returning officer had not formally declared their victory.
In the elections for these two Rajya Sabha seats, while the BJP narrowly missed out on a hat-trick of victories thanks to independent candidates, the Congress succeeded in washing away the stigma of its previous two Rajya Sabha election defeats. This victory for the Congress is being seen as a victory for Leader of the Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda.
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Karmaveer Bauddh was Rahul Gandhi's candidate, and most Congress MLAs disliked him, but despite cross-voting within the Congress party, Karmaveer Bauddh won the election. A total of 88 votes were cast in the 90-member assembly. Two INLD MLAs, Arjun Singh Chautala and Aditya Devi Lal Chautala, abstained.
BJP candidate Sanjay Bhatia received 33 votes. Although Bhatia needed 31 votes to win, the BJP strategically secured 33 votes for him, ensuring that any votes that were rejected would not adversely impact his victory. Congress had filed a complaint with the Returning Officer to have Cabinet Minister Anil Vij's vote rejected.
Similarly, the BJP filed a complaint regarding the cancellation of the votes of Bharat Singh Beniwal and Paramveer Singh of the Congress. When these complaints reached the Election Commission, the votes of Anil Vij and Bharat Singh Beniwal were declared valid, while Paramveer Singh's vote was cancelled.
Sanjay Bhatia secured 33 votes, while Karamveer Bauddh received 28 votes. The BJP also backed independent candidate Satish Nandal, who got 25 votes. Although Nandal did not win, he put up a strong challenge against Bauddh until the very end. One Congress vote was rejected, two were cancelled, and six were reported as cross-voted. Similarly, two BJP votes were also cancelled.
The counting of votes began at around 11:15 pm and concluded at approximately 1:15 am. The delay was caused by complaints lodged by both the BJP and Congress with the Election Commission. Counting commenced only after all the complaints had been resolved.
Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge also wrote a letter to the Election Commission regarding this matter. After hearing both sides, the Election Commission deemed the votes of Anil Vij and Bharat Singh Beniwal valid, while Paramveer Singh's vote was rejected.
Who Got How Many Votes In Haryana Rajya Sabha Elections?
Name Of Candidate Votes Received
Sanjay Bhatia (BJP) 31
Karmaveer Bauddh (Congress) 28
Satish Nandal (Independent) 27
As soon as the voting process began at 9 am on Monday, MLAs began arriving at the Assembly. Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini was the first to arrive and cast his vote. Within the first two hours, a significant number of MLAs had already cast their votes. By 11:15 am, 25 MLAs had cast their votes. By 12:15 pm, the number had risen to 40. By 12:30 pm, 50 MLAs had cast their votes, and by 1:15 pm, 62 had cast their votes. By 2:50 pm, a total of 87 MLAs had cast their votes.