Chandigarh — The Indian National Congress in Haryana has suspended five of its MLAs for alleged cross-voting during the March 16 Rajya Sabha elections, escalating internal tensions within the party.
The suspended legislators include Shalley Chaudhary (Naraingarh), Renu Bala (Sadhaura), Jarnail Singh (Ratia), Mohammad Israil (Hathin), and Mohammad Ilyas (Punahana).
Haryana Congress president Rao Narender Singh confirmed the action, stating that the party had accepted the findings of its Disciplinary Action Committee. The committee, headed by Dharampal Malik, had recommended suspension after reviewing responses to show-cause notices issued to the MLAs.
According to party sources, the legislators allegedly voted in favour of BJP-backed Independent candidate Satish Nandal instead of the official Congress nominee. State Congress in-charge B K Hariprasad also confirmed the disciplinary move.
The committee further suggested that the MLAs should resign from their membership, indicating the seriousness of the breach of party discipline.
Among the five, Shalley Chaudhary, Renu Bala, and Jarnail Singh submitted written replies denying the allegations. They maintained that they had voted for the Congress candidate and even showed their ballots to former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who had been authorised by the party to verify votes.
Shalley Chaudhary accused senior party leaders of targeting her and referred to controversies in previous Rajya Sabha elections, while Renu Bala also claimed she was being unfairly implicated. Jarnail Singh echoed similar claims in his response.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Israil and Mohammad Ilyas did not respond to the notices issued by the party.
The episode has highlighted factional strains within the Haryana Congress unit, with the cross-voting incident likely to have political implications ahead of upcoming electoral contests.
