A month after he lost the Rajya Sabha seat from Himachal Pradesh on Saturday, Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi challenged in the High Court, the interpretation of draw of lots rules by the poll officer consequent to the tie.
Sanghvi lost to BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan in the Rajya Sabha elections held on February 27 for the lone seat in the state.
Congress in majority with 40 members, while BJP 25 and three independents in the House, witnessed cross-voting as Congress six MLAs voted in favour of Mahajan along with the independent MLAs. Since both candidates got 34 votes each, the BJP nominee won the election through a draw of lots.
While announcing the winner by draw of lots, the election officer declared the name drawn in the lots as the loser.
After filing the application in the High Court, Singhvi talking to media persons said, “It defies common sense, old tradition and practices. Whenever there is a tie between two persons, the person whose name is drawn should be the winner and not the loser.”