Congress analysing ‘unexpected’ Haryana defeat, to inform EC about complaints: Rahul Gandhi

India’s principal opposition Congress party is planning to raise complaints with the Election Commission over the counting process as results for Haryana and Jammu-Kashmir assembly polls were announced Tuesday (Oct 8). The Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said the Congress party was analysing “unexpected” results in Haryana. The Indian grand old party fared strong in early trends on but faced a major turnaround later as incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) managed to cross the half-way mark in the 90-member strong assembly, winning 48 of 90 seats.

“We are analysing the unexpected results of Haryana. We will inform the Election Commission about the complaints coming from many assembly constituencies,” Gandhi said in a post on X in his first remarks on the election results in Haryana.

Gandhi said Congress would continue fighting for people’s rights and social and economic justice.

In the post, Gandhi also hailed INDIA bloc’s comprehensive victory in Jammu and Kashmir, an event that he labelled “victory of democratic self-respect”. The National Conference, a Congress ally, won 42 seats in the state, whereas Gandhi’s party was able to win 6 seats.

Exit polls had predicted a comfortable win for Congress party in Haryana. However, it managed to get only 37 seats, way short of the majority mark of 46. Congress rejected the results on Tuesday, calling them “unacceptable”. The party also issued a memorandum alleging a slowdown in the updation of the counting figures in Haryana.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi later took a dig at Congress for questioning the people’s mandate, alleging that it wants to tarnish every institution in the country.

Meanwhile, Congress’s defeat has raised serious questions over the party leadership yet again, with even allies now turning the heat on it for the dismal show.

Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena, a key ally of Congress party in Maharashtra state, criticised it for not joining hands with Aam Aadmi Party ahead of the elections.

(With inputs from agencies)