Result of state YC chief’s election put on hold

Geetanjali Gayatri

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 5

The result of the election to the post of Haryana Youth Congress president has been put on hold a day after the counting concluded. The Congress' election Commission is learnt to have received complaints about alleged irregularities during the poll.

Pradesh returning officer Satish Rathore said: “Though the counting has concluded, we have received some complaints about the polling process. We want to verify these before announcing the new president.”

In the polling that concluded on December 1, seven candidates contested the post of president of the Haryana Youth Congress (YC). While Panipat’s Sachin Kundu bagged the highest number of votes at 25086, former state YC president Chiranjeev Rao, former Haryana minister Capt Ajay Yadav’s son and RJD chief Lalu Yadav’s son-in-law, bagged 15,010 votes to come second.

It is learnt that Chiranjeev Rao, who will now have to be content with being vice-president as per the provision under the Congress’ election rules, has submitted a representation to Rathore alleging “irregularities in the polling process”. “The pradesh returning officer will announce an inquiry over the next two or three days in view of my representation,” Rao said.

MP Deepender Singh Hooda-backed Kundu’s election is being seen as a shot in the arm for former Chief Minister Bhupinder’s Singh Hooda’s camp, especially since the “anti-Hooda” group within the party had joined hands and thrown its weight behind Chiranjeev, sources maintained.

The Hooda camp has been celebrating the “pretty much a clean sweep” by its candidates, claiming that the president, 16 of the 22 district presidents and most of the general secretaries owe allegiance to it. The outgoing state YC president, Amit Sihag, claimed that their candidates won in 70 of the 90 Assembly seats. Devesh Kumar (vice-president), Akshit Yadav and Dheeraj Singh from Bhiwani are Hooda loyalists, Ajit S Tongar belongs to Capt Yadav’s camp while Shantanu Singh is seen as MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi’s candidate.

Congratulating all participants, Deepender Singh appealed to them and the youth to come together to fight the anti-youth and anti-common man policies of the BJP. Capt Ajay Yadav said this result, being seen as a jolt to him since his candidates lost the post of district president as also those of president in the three Assembly segments falling in Rewari, could not be a barometer.

“Our candidate lost by 22 votes in the district and by 27 votes in the constituency because we were supporting multiple candidates. Further, money and muscle power were at play in these elections. Booths were captured in the Rohtak, Sonepat, Jhajjar, Kosli and Mahendragarh Assembly seats while firing was reported from Nuh. Ballot boxes were taken away in Yamunanagar while a polling official was beaten up in Panchkula and ballot boxes were shifted from the local office to a dharamshala by Hooda’s supporters,” he alleged.