Political tension over a high-stakes local body poll in Rajasthan spilled over into neighbouring Haryana on Monday, with the Congress alleging that 18 party-backed councillors and its chairperson candidate were stopped by the Haryana police while returning from Himachal Pradesh, hours before they were to vote in the Tijara municipal council chairperson election.

The allegations triggered a protest outside the Pinjore police station and a last-minute legal battle over whether the election could proceed without the councillors. Acting on their request, the Returning Officer extended the voting time till 8 p.m. under the Rajasthan Municipalities (Election) Rules, 1994.

The councillors had been staying at Kasol in Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh since September 10 as part of the Congress’s effort to prevent defections ahead of the chairperson’s election on Monday, according to Congress leader Imran Khan, who was involved in managing the party’s campaign in Tijara.

Mr. Khan, who had unsuccessfully contested the Tijara Assembly election on a Congress ticket in 2023, told The Hindu that the group of councillors had left Kasol around 8 p.m. on Sunday. They were then stopped near the Surajpur toll plaza in Haryana’s Panchkula district around 9 p.m., he alleged.

According to him, the group comprised 85 people, including the 18 councillors and candidate Ram Avtar Saini. He alleged that Haryana Police personnel, accompanied by private individuals, took them away to a resort in Morni Hills. Some members of the group escaped and reached the Pinjore police station, where Congress workers staged a protest.

Mr. Khan also alleged that some women members of the group were taken away without women police personnel being present and that the police prevented members of the group from recording videos.

The Congress alleged that the move was aimed at delaying the councillors’ return to Tijara and preventing them from voting. The municipal council has 35 members. The Congress claimed the support of around 19 to 20 councillors against about 15 backed by the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The group eventually resumed its journey around 5 p.m. on Monday, Mr. Khan said. The election authorities had extended the voting deadline to 8 p.m. but the Congress sought a further extension until 11 p.m. or midnight, he added.

Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee president Rao Narender Singh also questioned the reported detention, asking the administration to clarify the legal provision under which the elected representatives were stopped and the grounds on which they were kept at the police station.

Denying the allegations, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Panchkula-4, Ram Kumar told The Hindu over the phone that “a group of men from Rajasthan had held a protest outside the Pinjore police station on Monday alleging that some people in their group had gone missing”. The police traced the missing persons to Shahbad and they later left for Rajasthan, he said.

Inspector Rajesh Kumar of the Pinjore police station declined to comment on the matter.