Haryana Congress expels MLA for cross-voting in RS Polls

Congress snapped the whip and fired its MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi from all party positions a day after losing the Rajya Sabha poll in Haryana due to cross-voting.

According to the Haryana Congress, Bishnoi, an MLA from Hisar’s Adampur constituency, did not vote for the party’s nominee Ajay Maken and instead crossed-voted for Independent candidate Kartikeya Sharma, who was backed by the ruling BJP-JJP coalition.

The Congress had 31 MLAs and needed the same number of votes to win the Haryana Rajya Sabha seat, but one of its legislators crossed the floor and another’s vote was voided.

“With immediate effect, the Congress president has expelled Kuldeep Bishnoi from all of his current party posts, including the post of special invitee of the Congress Working Committee,” said AICC general secretary K C Venugopal in a statement.

Bishnoi had not attended any of the legislators’ party meetings and had stated that he voted according to his conscience.