India News | Action Sought Against Kuldeep Bishnoi for Cross-voting During RS Polls: Sources

Chandigarh, Jun 11 (PTI) An action is learnt to have been sought against Adampur MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi for cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha polls, say sources in the Haryana Congress.

Congress nominee Ajay Maken failed to secure Rajya Sabha berth after one of the party's MLAs, Bishnoi, cross-voted, while the vote of an MLA was declared invalid.

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In a jolt to the Congress, the BJP's Krishan Lal Panwar and the saffron party-backed Independent candidate Kartikeya Sharma were elected for the two Rajya Sabha seats from Haryana.

According to the Congress, Bishnoi, instead of voting for the party candidate Maken, cross-voted for Kartikeya Sharma, a media baron, who had entered the fray as an Independent candidate supported by the BJP and its ally JJP. Bishnoi, in a cryptic tweet in Hindi on Saturday, said, “I know how to crush a snake's hood. I do not leave the jungle in fear of snakes.”

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Bishnoi has allegedly been sulking over being sidelined during the revamp of the party's state unit.

AICC in-charge of Haryana Vivek Bansal is learnt to have sought from the party leadership for action against Bishnoi for cross-voting, say party sources. Congress MLA and the party's authorised polling agent BB Batra had earlier said that the vote of a party MLA was declared invalid, while MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi cross-voted for Sharma. When reporters on Saturday asked Maken his view on Bishnoi's cross-vote, the senior Congress leader said only Bishnoi could tell what was in it for him to do so. “He won elections on the Congress symbol and he did not vote for the Congress candidate,” Maken said, and added that only Bishnoi could tell under what pressure or lure he cross-voted. Maken said the people of Haryana will not forgive Bishnoi for what he did.

When asked what action will be taken against Bishnoi for cross-voting, Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said the matter was for the party to decide.

The Rajya Sabha results have come as a setback for Hooda, as the party had recently replaced Kumari Selja as its state unit chief with his loyalist Udai Bhan. After the Rajya Sabha results were declared, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar while replying to a question on Bishnoi voting for Sharma, had said the Congress leader did it listening to his “inner conscience”.

"He voted listening to his inner conscience. I can say that he must have voted after being influenced by the policies and achievements of the Modi government. He did not bother what action the Congress will take... I congratulate him," Khattar had said. "The party will welcome him if he joins it," Khattar had said, on the rebel leader's likelihood of jumping ships. Bishnoi, a prominent non-Jat face in Haryana, is the son of former Haryana Chief Minister and Congress leader late Bhajan Lal.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)