Cross-voting exposes Congress fault lines across states

The cross-voting witnessed during the Rajya Sabha elections has heightened concerns within the Congress high command, exposing serious lapses in the party’s election management.

- AJIT MAINDOLA

The party’s managers failed to prevent defections, with Congress MLAs in Odisha and Bihar playing a pivotal role in ensuring the victory of NDA candidates.

In Haryana, cross-voting nearly cost the party dearly, with the Congress candidate scraping through by a narrow margin. Of the party’s 37 MLAs, five cross voted, pushing the organisation into a crisis. Although Congress candidate Karmveer Boddh ultimately won, the episode has laid bare structural weaknesses in the party’s internal coordination. Former Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda has once again come under scrutiny, while even senior leader V.K. Hariprasad, serving as in-charge, failed to accurately gauge the mood of MLAs.