Congress leader Jairam Ramesh.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Raising “serious questions” about the Haryana Assembly results, Congress on Tuesday said it is “not possible for us to accept” the outcome, as victory has been “snatched” from them through “manipulation” and they will be soon approaching the Election Commission with a detailed complaint.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the Haryana result was “unexpected” and the party was assessing the public opinion. “After talking to our ground workers, getting complete information and checking the facts, a detailed response will come from the party….Our hardworking workers need not feel disappointed,” he said.
Though Kharge refrained from indicating suspicion about the results, Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh told a press conference that there were “serious issues” with the counting process and the functioning of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in around a dozen constituencies in three districts.
Congress Media and Publicity Department chairperson Pawan Khera claimed it is the “victory of the system and the defeat of democracy”. He said they were collating complaints from candidates and would soon approach the Election Commission.
Ramesh claimed the results in Haryana go against ground reality and the sentiment of the people which was for change and “under these circumstances, it is not possible for us to accept these results in Haryana. There are serious issues raised by our candidates which we will raise with the EC.”
“Victory has been snatched from us in Haryana…Congress has been made to lose in Haryana and the chapter is not closed,” he said, adding the Haryana results were “totally unexpected, completely surprising and counter-intuitive”.
Khera claimed that some of their candidates complained about some EVMs having 99% battery strength even after many rounds of counting and the results from all such machines went against the Congress. However, he claimed quoting those candidates, those machines, whose battery strength was normal, between 60-70%, showed Congress candidates to be winning.
On Jammu and Kashmir results, Ramesh said he would accept that the Congress performance should have been better in the Jammu region. He said there are some reasons for this too and it would be discussed.
He also said that the coalition government of the National Conference and Congress will be transparent and answerable and their top most priority would be restoration of the statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
"There will be a common programme, apart from the respective manifestoes of the two parties. The alliance will provide a responsible, responsive, accountable and transparent government. The people of Jammu and Kashmir have given a clear and categorical verdict in favour of the NC-INC alliance”, Ramesh said.
Haryana Assembly poll 2024 results| Check constituency results here
J&K Assembly poll 2024 results| Check constituency results here
Assembly Elections 2024 | In the first assembly polls since the Lok Sabha elections, Narendra Modi and the BJP face a rejuvenated and vindicated Opposition in the Haryana assembly polls. Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir is voting after almost a decade and it remains to be seen how the abrogation of Article 370 has impacted the political landscape of the Valley. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.
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