‘System won, democracy defeated’ in Haryana; Congress expresses shock at results

Following the early results in the Haryana Assembly elections, indicating a likely BJP victory for a third consecutive term, the Congress has expressed shock and surprise.

Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters, Congress leaders Pawan Khera and Jairam Ramesh called the results "unacceptable," claiming they represented a triumph of the system over the will of the people.

"There have been constant complaints from Hisar, Mahendragarh, and Panipat districts about EVMs. The battery levels in these machines were at 99 per cent, and in these areas, the results defeated the Congress. In contrast, we won in machines with battery levels at 60–70 per cent, which were not tampered with," Khera stated.

He further declared, "We will take all these complaints to the Election Commission. This is not a victory of democracy but of manipulation, and we cannot accept it."

Jairam Ramesh echoed Khera’s sentiments, arguing that the results did not reflect the ground reality and that the Congress’ victory had been stolen.

He accused the BJP of manipulation, stating, "These results are unexpected and counterintuitive. They go against the will of the people of Haryana, who had clearly demanded change and transformation."

"What we witnessed in Haryana today is a subversion of democracy, not a genuine electoral victory. This chapter in Haryana is far from over," Ramesh added.

Earlier in the day, Ramesh sent a letter to the Election Commission, alleging irregularities in the vote counting process and claiming that data on the ECI's website was not updated in a timely manner.

He accused the BJP of exerting undue pressure on the Commission and cited serious complaints regarding EVM malfunctions in at least three districts, with more reports still coming in. He assured that these consolidated complaints would soon be submitted to the ECI.

The Election Commission, however, refuted these allegations, dismissing Ramesh’s claims as baseless and ill-intentioned.

On the Jammu and Kashmir election results, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh stated that the people had delivered a clear and decisive mandate rejecting the "mischievous designs of the BJP to engineer a majority of its own."

Ramesh emphasized that the restoration of statehood would be the top priority for the INDIA bloc government, saying, "Once we form the government, our first priority will be to restore full statehood to the Union Territory."