Election Results 2024 Highlights: Made EC aware of 20 complaints from 7 constituencies, demanded sealing of EVMs, says Congress
Election Results 2024 Highlights: In his first comments following the election results in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said his party was analysing the “unexpected results in Haryana.”
Press briefing by Congress Party after meeting with the Election Commission of India in New Delhi. (Photo: Screengrab/Congress/X)
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Election Results 2024 Highlights: Hours after the Election Commission criticised the Congress for rejecting the Haryana Assembly election results, and called their remarks “undemocratic,” Congress leader Pawan Khera said Congress leaders KC Venugopal, Ashok Gehlot, Jairam Ramesh, Ajay Maken, Bhupinder Singh Hooda and other party leaders had met ECI officials. “We told ECI about the 20 complaints, of which seven are written complaints from seven constituencies. There were machines that were at 99% and other normal machines were at 60-70% on the day of counting. We demanded that those machines should be sealed and secured until the investigation is complete.”
Earlier in the day, in response to the unexpected results, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had said the party was analysing the situation and would report complaints from various constituencies to the Election Commission. He also expressed gratitude to the people of Jammu and Kashmir for the NC-Congress alliance’s success, which secured 49 of 90 assembly seats.
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The BJP is poised to form the government for a historic third term in Haryana, winning 48 of the 90 Assembly seats. Despite predictions favoring Congress due to anti-incumbency sentiments, they managed only 37 seats. Prime Minister Narendra Modi celebrated the BJP’s victory at a workers’ meeting, referring to it as the “lotus blooming” for the third time in Haryana.
The importance of Haryana goes beyond its size. It lies in whether the Congress can wrest another state from the BJP. Were that to happen on Tuesday, as ground reports and exit polls have indicated, it would create momentum in Maharashtra and Jharkhand, where polls are expected to be announced soon after Tuesday.
The Haryana verdict will also reveal whether the Opposition’s footprint is increasing in the Hindi heartland, which has been an impregnable fortress for the BJP for a decade. The Congress captured Himachal Pradesh two years ago and in the just-held Lok Sabha polls, it, along with ally Samajwadi Party, seriously dented the BJP’s hold in Uttar Pradesh that is known to determine national fortunes. Neighbouring Delhi and Punjab are anyway being ruled by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
The desire for change in Haryana was palpable this time, making it a “takkar (contest)” even in some of the BJP strongholds, such as the Ahirwal region and the GT Road constituencies. Many articulated this “chah (desire)” in different ways. “In marketing, you are looking for something new all the time,” said a driver at a roadside dhaba in Badshahpur constituency in Gurgaon district. “People have got tired of the old messages … It is like seeing a movie for the sixth time.”
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