Congress suspends 5 Haryana MLAs for cross-voting in March 16 Rajya Sabha polls

Haryana Congress on Thursday suspended five MLAs who cross-voted in the March 16 Rajya Sabha polls.

These MLAs, including Naraingarh MLA Shalley Chaudhary, Sadhaura (SC) MLA Renu Bala, Ratia (SC) MLA Jarnail Singh, Hathin MLA Mohd Israil, and Punahana MLA Mohammad Ilyas, are accused of voting for BJP-backed Independent candidate Satish Nandal in the Rajya Sabha polls.

Talking to The Tribune, Haryana Congress president Rao Narender Singh said, “The five MLAs have been suspended for cross-voting. The action against them for anti-party activity is based on the Disciplinary Action Committee’s recommendation. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also agrees with the decision.”

Mohd Israil

State Congress in-charge BK Hariprasad confirmed the development.

The disciplinary committee, headed by chairman Dharampal Malik, had recommended suspension of the legislators after examining their responses to show-cause notices. It was also recommended that these MLAs should be asked to resign from membership.

The Congress has 37 MLAs in a 90-member House. According to the formula, the Congress candidate, Karamvir Singh Boudh, needed 31 votes in a house of 90 MLAs. However, five Congress MLAs cross-voted in favour of Nandal, and four of the party’s votes were declared invalid.

Boudh still managed to win, receiving 28 valid votes. Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader and former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who was the party’s authorized representative to see the MLAs’ ballot papers, had complained about the five MLAs for cross-voting.

However, he maintained that he was not aware of those three MLAs whose votes had been declared invalid. Besides these three MLAs, Tohana MLA Paramvir Singh’s vote was declared invalid for breach of secrecy.

Of the five MLAs who allegedly cross-voted, Shalley Chaudhary, Renu Bala, and Jarnail Singh submitted responses to the show-cause notices issued to them for cross voting, while Mohammad Ilyas and Mohd Israil did not respond.

Shalley had denied the allegations, stating that she had voted for the official Congress candidate and accused senior leaders of targeting her. She also referred to past events, remarking that “what happened in the 2016 Rajya Sabha polls, everyone knew.”

Similarly, Renu Bala also refuted the charges, maintaining that she remained loyal to the party and was being unfairly implicated. Jarnail Singh, in his written reply, similarly denied charges of cross-voting.

Renu Bala

All three MLAs asserted that they had shown their ballots to Hooda, who had been authorised by the party to verify the votes.

On the other hand, Mohd Israil had admitted to cross-voting publicly and had even shared a stage with BJP leaders. Though he mentioned that he did it for the development of the Hathin constituency. Mohammad Ilyas had said that he didn’t cross-vote and added that he would not step down from the MLA post. “What happens in the future, time will decide,” he said.

Shalley Chaudhary (second from the right)

There is an open ballot system in the Rajya Sabha polls. An elected MLA doesn’t face any disqualification from the membership of the House for voting in a particular manner under the anti-defection law, but he may, at the most, attract action from the political party to which he belongs, as he has to show his ballot to an authorized agent.

Shalley Chaudhary is a two-time MLA from Naraingarh, the home turf of CM Nayab Singh Saini. She won in 2019 and then in 2024. Renu Bala is also a two-time MLA from Sadhaura (SC). Mohd Ilyas is a five-term MLA, while Mohd Israil is a first-time MLA. Jarnail Singh is a three-time MLA from Ratia (SC) in Fatehabad.

Jarnail Singh