Narendra Modi questioned Congress’s performance after ballot-paper elections for 28 Legislative Council seats across four states.
The BJP-JD(S) alliance won all four Karnataka seats, leaving the ruling Congress without a victory.
In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP won five seats and the Samajwadi Party secured three, while counting continued elsewhere.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a dig at Congress on Wednesday after legislative council elections in four states that used ballot papers. The contests covered 28 seats in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Bihar and Maharashtra.
In a post on X, Modi wrote, “MLC elections in 28 seats across 4 big states – Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar and Karnataka. Elections held using ballot papers. Guess how many seats Congress won?." The early trend pointed to a strong NDA showing, particularly in Karnataka.
The Samajwadi Party (SP) had won seats in Uttar Pradesh, while counting and official result announcements were still pending in parts of Bihar and Maharashtra. Overall, the results suggested a setback for Congress in Karnataka and gains for the BJP and its allies in other states.
Karnataka Sweep
The BJP-JD(S) combine won all four Legislative Council seats in Karnataka, leaving the ruling Congress without a single victory. The outcome was a blow for Congress in a state it governs.
JD(S) candidate A P Ranganath beat incumbent Congress MLC Puttanna in the Bengaluru Teachers’ constituency. In the North-East Teachers’ seat, NDA nominee Shashil G Namoshi defeated Congress candidate Sharanappa Mattur.
The BJP held on to the South-East Graduates’ and West Graduates’ constituencies as well, sealing a complete sweep of the four races.
Uttar Pradesh Tally
By the latest update, the BJP had taken five of the 11 Legislative Council seats in Uttar Pradesh, while the SP had secured three. Counting was still in progress for the remaining seats.
The BJP retained the Bareilly-Moradabad, Meerut Teachers’, Meerut Graduates’ and Lucknow Teachers’ constituencies. An earlier count had put it at four confirmed victories before later declarations lifted the total to five.
The SP won the Varanasi Teachers’ and Agra-Aligarh Teachers’ seats. In Varanasi, SP candidate Lal Bihari Yadav got 10,958 votes and defeated BJP candidate Pramod Kumar Mishra, who polled 6,060.
Bihar And Maharashtra
In Bihar, results were still being announced, with the BJP and its allies making gains and Jan Suraaj opening its account in the Legislative Council. The BJP won the Tirhut Teachers’ constituency, where Narendra Prasad Singh defeated Independent candidate Bhushan Kumar Jha.
In Patna Graduates’, JD(U) candidate Neeraj Kumar defeated the RJD nominee, though the official result was still awaited. In Darbhanga Teachers’, Jan Suraaj candidate Suresh Prasad Rai beat sitting Congress MLC Madan Mohan Jha by 324 votes, giving the party its first Council seat.
The RJD won Patna Teachers’, defeating five-term BJP MLC Nawal Kishore Yadav. In Saran Teachers’, Rahul Raj, an Independent and BJP rebel, defeated sitting MLC Afaq Ahmed.
In Maharashtra, five Legislative Council seats were in play between the ruling Mahayuti alliance and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi. A total of 182 candidates were contesting, but the final constituency-wise winners were still not available in the latest update.
