Rajya Sabha Achilles Heel: How Cross-Voting Has Dogged Congress Since 2014

Published 19 June 2026 · politics

The Cross-Voting Curse: Why Rajya Sabha Polls Remain Congress's Achilles Heel Published By, Last Updated: June 19, 2026, 12:59 IST From Haryana to Himachal Pradesh

The Cross-Voting Curse: Why Rajya Sabha Polls Remain Congress's Achilles Heel Published By, Last Updated: June 19, 2026, 12:59 IST From Haryana to Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat to UP, and Jharkhand, Rajya Sabha elections have repeatedly become a test of the Congress's ability to keep its legislative flock together Rapid Read Congress MPs Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi. (AI generated image) Congress’s defeat in the June 18 Rajya Sabha election in Jharkhand has once again exposed a problem that has repeatedly haunted the party over the last decade: cross-voting by its own legislators or those of its allies in crucial Upper House contests. From Haryana to Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat to Uttar Pradesh, and now Jharkhand, Rajya Sabha elections have repeatedly become a test of the Congress’s ability to keep its legislative flock together. In several cases, the party has lost seats despite having the numbers on paper. In others, it has survived only after dramatic recounts, Election Commission interventions or support from allies. The latest setback came in Jharkhand, where Congress nominee Pranav Jha lost to NDA-backed Independent Parimal Nathwani, despite the INDIA bloc commanding a comfortable majority in the 81-member Assembly. The alliance had 56 MLAs – enough to win both Rajya Sabha seats – but Nathwani secured the exact winning quota of 28 valid votes, while Jha managed only 19. Investigations within the alliance pointed to cross-voting by legislators from Congress allies RJD and CPI(ML). The defeat also reopened questions over Congress’s decision to announce Jha’s candidature without first consulting its senior alliance partner, the JMM, creating resentment within the coalition before polling even began. The Jharkhand episode is only the latest in a long line of Rajya Sabha elections where internal dissent has undone Congress’s electoral arithmetic. Haryana 2016: The ‘Ink Controversy’ That Cost Congress A Seat One of the most controversial Rajya Sabha elections in recent memory took place in Haryana in June 2016. Congress-backed Independent candidate RK Anand was expected to win with the support of Congress and opposition MLAs. Instead, BJP-backed Independent candidate Subhash Chandra emerged victorious after the Election Commission declared 13 opposition votes invalid. The reason became infamous as the “ink controversy." Congress legislators had marked their ballots using a pen that was not the officially authorised violet sketch pen supplied by the Returning Officer. It was later alleged that the authorised pen had been replaced during polling, leading to the invalidation of ballots cast by Congress legislators, including senior leader Randeep Surjewala.