- PM Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and other BJP leaders criticised Congress after its performance in the MLC polls.
- Congress failed to win seats in the 28 constituencies contested across Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar and Karnataka.
- The BJP linked the results in ballot-paper elections to Congress’s criticism of EVMs, while the broader debate over electoral transparency continues.
New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has launched a series of sarcastic social media attacks against the Congress after the opposition party failed to win any seats in the recent Legislative Council elections across Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar and Karnataka.
The elections covered 28 Legislative Council constituencies, with voting held on October 23 and results declared on October 28. The polls were conducted using ballot papers, a method Congress and several other opposition parties have advocated as an alternative to electronic voting machines (EVMs) in major elections.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and several BJP leaders used social media posts and memes to highlight the Congress’s performance.
According to a report by the national media, the BJP’s posts included graphics and sarcastic remarks directed at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
Amit Shah Shares ‘Ballot Box, Resign’ Meme
Union Home Minister Amit Shah took a swipe at the Congress in a post on X, asking how many of the 28 MLC seats the party had won.
His post answered the question with a zero and featured a graphic showing a ballot box alongside a placard reading, “Ballot Box, resign.”The meme referred to the Congress’s criticism of EVMs and its demand for ballot-paper voting in elections.
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta also joined the online exchanges, making a sarcastic reference to mathematician Aryabhata’s association with the concept of zero.
Union Minister Piyush Goyal shared another meme featuring Rahul Gandhi at a fuel pump, with a caption referring to the party’s zero-seat tally.
The posts formed part of a wider BJP response to the Congress’s results in the four-state elections.
PM Modi Questions Congress’s Performance
Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi referred to the election results in a social media post, noting that the polls had been held using ballot papers.
He asked followers to guess how many seats Congress had won across the 28 constituencies.
The BJP used the results to challenge the Congress’s arguments about electoral transparency and its criticism of EVMs.
BJP leaders said the outcome showed that changing the voting method would not automatically translate into electoral gains for the Congress.
These remarks represent the BJP’s political response to the results. The election outcome itself does not independently establish broader claims about the reliability of different voting systems.
Congress Suffers Setback Across Four States
The biennial MLC elections covered graduate and teachers’ constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar and Karnataka.
The Congress suffered a particularly significant setback in Karnataka, where it failed to win any of the four seats contested. The BJP retained three seats, while its ally, the Janata Dal (Secular), won the Bengaluru Teachers’ constituency.
In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP won five seats, while the Samajwadi Party secured three.
In Bihar, the Jan Suraaj Party won a Legislative Council seat for the first time in the Darbhanga Teachers’ constituency. The BJP, Janata Dal (United), Rashtriya Janata Dal and an Independent candidate also secured victories.
The results in Maharashtra included contests involving the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance and opposition parties.
The elections were limited to specific graduate and teachers’ constituencies, so the results should not be treated as a direct measure of voting preferences across the entire population of the four states.
BJP Links Results to Congress’s EVM Criticism
The BJP argued that Congress’s failure to secure seats in elections conducted using ballot papers undermined its criticism of EVM-based elections.
BJP leaders also accused Rahul Gandhi and the Congress of questioning electoral processes without securing sufficient political support.
Congress and other opposition parties have raised concerns about electoral transparency and called for changes to voting procedures. The BJP has rejected the opposition’s criticism.
The latest exchange has added another chapter to the ongoing political dispute between the two parties over elections, voting methods and allegations of irregularities.
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