Congress rejects ‘totally unexpected’ Haryana assembly elections results, files complaint with ECI

India’s main opposition political party, the Indian National Congress (INC), has filed complaint with the country’s election body about the “counter-intuitive” result of the Haryana state assembly elections. On Wednesday (Oct 9), the grand old party of India filed multiple complaints over Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) win, it said.

In India’s Haryana, the recent state assembly elections saw the BJP win 48 seats, while the Congress won 37. This was in contrast to the result exit polls were predicting — a resounding return to power for the Congress.

Senior members of the INC met with officials of the Election Commission of India (ECI). As per reports, they told the ECI of complaints from 20 of the 90 constituencies in the state. They have been assured that their concerns will be looked into.

“The Election Commission was handed over written complaints from seven constituencies, while the remaining complaints will be submitted in another two days,” said the party in a statement on Wednesday.

The party previously said that it would not accept the “totally unexpected, completely surprising and counter-intuitive” result.

Meanwhile, the ECI in a letter to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, denounced Congress’s rejection of the election result and said it infringed the norms of “free speech”.

“Such an unprecedented statement … unheard in the rich democratic heritage of the country, is far from a legitimate part of free speech and moves towards an undemocratic rejection of the will of the people,” said the election body. 

In India, political parties may contest election results, complaining to the ECI about counting issues and seeking redress. If unsatisfied by the election body’s response, they may appeal to the courts.

(With inputs from agencies)