Other States - Haryana   

Ajay Singh Chautala elected to Rajya Sabha

By Our Special Correspondent

CHANDIGARH, JUNE 28. The ruling Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) candidate, Ajay Singh Chautala, and the INLD-BJP supported Independent candidate, Tarlochan Singh, won the two Rajya Sabha seats from Haryana, elections for which were held today amid tight security.

While Mr. Ajay Singh, the elder son of the Chief Minister, Om Prakash Chautala, polled 29 votes, Mr. Tarlochan Singh, Chairman of the Minorities Commission, secured 28 votes. One vote was declared invalid.

The Congress-HVP nominee, Kiran Choudhary, lost getting only 22 votes. The Congress' hopes of winning were dashed to the ground when the Supreme Court ruled today that the six MLAs — two from the Congress and four Independents — disqualified by the Speaker for defecting could not vote. But they could enjoy the perks and privileges of an MLA till the pronouncement of the final verdict.

Addressing a press conference here in the evening, Mr. Chautala hailed the victory as a "reversal" of the INLD's rout in the recent Lok Sabha elections. He said it was a "major setback" for the Congress which was "blatantly indulging in engineering defections." He thanked the Supreme Court for ratifying the Speaker's ruling by not allowing the six MLAs to vote. Earlier, speaking to mediapersons on the Vidhan Sabha premises, he denied that the Speaker had disqualified the six MLAs under pressure from him.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Other States

News: Front Page | National | Tamil Nadu | Andhra Pradesh | Karnataka | Kerala | New Delhi | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Updates: Breaking News |

Stories in this Section

• Ajay Singh Chautala elected to Rajya Sabha

Copyright © 2004, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu