Shaili Chaudhary, Mohammad Ilyas, Renubala & Mohammad Israil Named by Congress in Haryana Cross-Voting Row

The political temperature in Haryana has risen sharply after the Congress publicly named four of its MLAs accused of cross-voting during the recent Rajya Sabha elections.

At a press conference in New Delhi, Haryana Congress in-charge B. K. Hariprasad identified the legislators as Shaili Chaudhary, Mohammad Ilyas, Mohammad Israil and Renubala, alleging that they voted in favour of the BJP.

The party has initiated disciplinary proceedings against the four MLAs and is set to issue show-cause notices, signaling a strict stance on internal dissent. Hariprasad also alleged that the election process was influenced by “money, muscle power and institutional pressure,” claiming that several votes were deliberately invalidated to alter the outcome.

He said that although the Congress had 37 votes, around five to six ballots were declared invalid. After reviewing the ballots along with senior leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda, the party concluded that at least four MLAs had cross-voted.

The Rajya Sabha election saw BJP candidate Sanjay Bhatia win comfortably, while Congress nominee Karamvir Singh Boudh secured the second seat in a tight contest against independent candidate Satish Nandal.

The controversy deepened after Congress MLA Gokul Setia staged a protest outside the party office demanding that the names of cross-voting MLAs be disclosed. The protest was later withdrawn following intervention by senior leadership.

Meanwhile, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini rejected allegations of “vote theft” and criticised the Congress over its internal handling of the issue. The development has exposed internal fault lines within the Congress in Haryana, with the leadership now under pressure to enforce discipline and prevent further political damage ahead of future elections.