Chandigarh (Haryana) [India], February 20: The Congress party in Haryana has expelled seven party leaders from across the state for engaging in “anti-party activities” ahead of the upcoming 2025 municipal corporation elections. These leaders have been suspended for six years following consultations with the state in-charge, BK Hariprasad.
The expelled leaders include former District Congress Committee (DCC) presidents Tarlochan Singh and Ashok Khurana (from Karnal), Member Coordination Committee Pradeep Chaudhary (from Karnal), former District Youth Congress (DYC) president Madhu Chaudhary (from Yamuna Nagar), and Ram Niwas Rara, a Congress candidate from the Hisar assembly constituency. Additionally, Harvinder (Lovely) and Ram Kishan Sain from Gurugram have also been expelled for six years with immediate effect.
This development follows recent remarks by Haryana Congress president Udai Bhan, who raised concerns regarding the use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and the delay in the declaration of results. He questioned the authenticity of EVMs, suggesting that elections should be conducted using ballot papers, as done in Uttarakhand. Bhan also expressed concern over the delay in counting, pointing out that traditionally, results of local body elections are announced on the same day as the election.
In recent municipal elections in Chandigarh, Congress secured the senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor posts, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won the Mayor’s post. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) expressed disappointment with Congress, accusing them of secret collaboration with the BJP.
The Haryana Municipal Corporation Elections are scheduled to take place on March 2, 2025, with results to be declared on March 12, 2025.