Just 32 Votes: A Battle for Democracy in Uchana

In Haryana’s Uchana Assembly seat, former IAS officer and Congress candidate Brijendra Singh lost by just 32 votes. Out of 1,377 postal ballots, 215 were declared invalid at the last minute by the Returning Officer. In the remaining 1,158 ballots, Brijendra secured 636.

Naturally, he appealed for scrutiny and recounting of the rejected ballots — a reasonable request given the narrow margin. However, the winning BJP MLA opposed any such review vehemently.

This raises a critical question: If your victory is legitimate, why fear a recount?

For a party that claims global recognition and boasts of ruling until 2047, this resistance to transparency is deeply troubling.

We’ve seen this before — in the Chandigarh mayoral elections, a counting officer was caught manipulating ballots on CCTV, marking them as invalid. The court overturned the result and declared the original loser as the rightful winner.

From voter suppression to bogus names, and now seat-level fraud, electoral malpractice appears to be evolving. Corrupt officials, complicit election staff, and systemic manipulation — this is a new threat to Indian democracy.

In states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, there have been reports of losing candidates being issued winning certificates. And in Gujarat (2018), over 20 election petitions dragged on for five years without closure.

Against this backdrop, the Punjab & Haryana High Court has emerged as a beacon of accountability — completing hearings within a year, and now heading toward a decisive verdict.

Tomorrow, September 23, could mark a crucial moment — not just for Brijendra Singh, but for every citizen who still believes in free and fair elections.