The ‘cross-voting’ by Congress MLAs in the recent Rajya Sabha election for Haryana has yet again exposed the fault lines of indiscipline and factionalism within the party, even as the Congress is celebrating its candidate going to the upper house of the Parliament, the win is nothing short of a hard lesson for the party.
Congress party on Wednesday (March 18, 2026) disclosed the names of four of its MLAs for allegedly indulging in cross-voting during the Haryana Rajya Sabha elections, adding that disciplinary proceedings have been initiated against them. Congress party’s in-charge for Haryana, B.K. Hariprasad, at a press conference in New Delhi, said Congress MLAs, including Shalley Chaudhary, Mohammad Ilyas, Mohammad Israil and Renu Bala had cross-voted in the election.
Uproar in Haryana Assembly after Congress secures wafer thin win in Rajya Sabha polls
“The party’s disciplinary committee has been informed and show cause notices will be issued to them,” he said, adding, “We had 37 votes, but five to six were declared invalid. Upon examination of the ballots, it was confirmed that four of our MLAs had indulged in cross-voting.” He added that the rest of names including those of invalid votes, shall be disclosed in coming day. The leader of the Opposition, Congress’s Bhupinder Singh Hooda, confirmed on Tuesday (March 17, 2026) that five Congress MLAs had cross-voted.
