Hooda claims BJP 'stole' Haryana govt with 'vote chori'; calls for return of ballot papers

New Delhi, Nov 5 (PTI) Former chief minister and Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Wednesday alleged that the Haryana government was "stolen" by the BJP, and demanded that all elections across the country be conducted on ballot papers.

Addressing a press conference here, Hooda said the credibility of the Election Commission is in doubt after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that the BJP "stole" the 2024 Haryana election with 25 lakh fake voters.

"The BJP stole the election in Haryana and the government through 25 lakh fake votes. The credibility of the Election Commission is now under question as it is the responsibility of the EC to ensure free and fair polls, but it failed as it is compromised," the former Haryana chief minister told reporters.

"We demand that elections across the country be held using ballot paper," Hooda asserted.

However, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini lashed out at Gandhi, accusing him of trying to mislead the country with his "lies", even though the BJP leader refused to comment on the latest allegations made by the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha.

Commenting on Gandhi's allegations against the EC, Hooda pointed out that even advanced countries like Germany have gone back to ballot paper after their court made some observations. "Then why should India not revert to ballot paper?" The Congress Legislature Party in the state said it would take this issue of "vote chori" forward after discussions within the party. The Haryana Congress would also try to create public awareness on the issue through agitations, he said.

Hooda said Rahul Gandhi did a press conference as there were insinuations in Haryana that people's "voice was suppressed and the government in the state was stolen through 'vote chori'".

"This is an issue concerning the country and the Constitution. What Rahul Gandhi raised is about democracy, and it is everyone's responsibility to ensure that there is no tinkering with the Constitution," he said.

Hooda said the Haryana polls result was surprising as exit polls gave the Congress a majority and gave the BJP not more than 29 seats.

He also raised questions on the sudden rise in voting percentages in Haryana after polling and wondered what caused the surge. It has been seen in the last few elections in Haryana that whoever won in postal ballots won the elections, Hooda claimed.

Former Haryana Congress chief Uday Bhan claimed there was an increase in votes overnight in the 2024 state election. Votes in each constituency increased by 15,175 on average, and it was a "serious matter".

The party's state unit president, Rao Narendra Singh, said, "It has become clear that democracy has been insulted in the country and the BJP stole the public mandate in Haryana." "This is not a battle for the Congress but for democracy," he said.

Singh termed the BJP Brazil Janata Party, "as it used a model from Brazil and used different names for her to 'steal' elections in Haryana." He claimed that the Congress got defeated in the polls by a total vote difference of 22,779.

"The people of Haryana have been cheated as the government in the state was 'stolen' and their mandate was taken away by the BJP. It is an insult to public mandate," he alleged, adding that 3.5 lakh votes were removed in Haryana after the Lok Sabha polls concluded and the assembly polls began.

"We will launch a 'vote chor, gaddi chhod' campaign across the state. The Congress is also taking out candle marches across the state and would also launch a public campaign and protests against the 'vote chori' in Haryana," he said. PTI SKC SKC NSD NSD