Trends in the counting for 28 Legislative Council elections in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra and Karnataka spell a setback for the Congress, which has not managed a lead anywhere so far.
With results now firming up, the Congress is set to draw a blank in the crucial election cycle that precedes the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.
For the Congress, the results carry a larger significance as the MLC elections were held on ballot papers and the party has won no seat. This also presents a challenge to the principal Opposition outfit’s anti-EVM and pro-ballot paper pitch amid its ongoing street campaign against the Election Commission and alleged vote theft.
Out of 11 MLC seats in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP has won four — the Bareilly-Moradabad Teachers’ seat, the Lucknow Teachers’ constituency, and the Teachers’ and Graduates’ constituencies in Meerut — while the Samajwadi Party has won two — the Varanasi Teachers’ constituency and the Agra-Aligarh Teachers’ constituency.
Counting for the remaining seats is under way.
In Bihar, where votes for eight MLC seats are being counted, Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party won one seat, and so did the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). The BJP won one seat, while independents won one. Counting for the remaining seats is under way.
In Karnataka, NDA partners BJP and JD(S) have swept the MLC elections, while counting is under way in Maharashtra.
BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari took a swipe at the Congress, saying people reject the party irrespective of whether elections are held on EVMs or ballot papers.
“Twenty-eight MLC elections happened on ballot paper and yet Congress under Rahul Gandhi won zero seats! With EVM, people of India reject Rahul Gandhi’s anarchic politics and with ballot paper also people of India reject Rahul Gandhi’s anarchic politics,” Bhandari said.
He said the Congress’s PR had no takers except within the Congress ecosystem.
