NEW DELHI : The results of Legislative Council elections held in several states across the country have been announced, dealing a double blow to the Congress. The party has suffered defeats in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, and it has also failed to secure a victory in Karnataka, a state where it is in power.
The most striking aspect is that Congress has repeatedly demanded elections through ballot papers instead of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). However, even in the Legislative Council elections conducted using ballot papers, the party has suffered a crushing defeat.
Congress Fails to Win a Single Seat in Karnataka
In Karnataka, the Congress failed to win even one of the four seats. The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (Secular), or JDS, contested the elections together.
The BJP won three seats, while the JDS secured one. The BJP emerged victorious in the North-East Teachers, South-East Graduates and West Graduates constituencies. The ruling Congress lost all three seats. The Bengaluru Teachers constituency went to the JDS.
Congress Loses Even in Ballot Paper Elections
In the election conducted using ballot papers, JDS leader A.P. Ranganath defeated Congress MLC Puttanna in the Bengaluru Teachers constituency.
Ranganath secured 10,810 votes, while Congress candidate Puttanna received 9,902 votes.
BJP candidate Shashil G. Namoshi won the North-East Teachers constituency.
JDS Takes a Dig at Congress
The Congress has consistently demanded elections through ballot papers and raised questions about the reliability of EVMs.
Following the latest Legislative Council election results, JDS leader Nikhil Kumaraswamy took a swipe at the Congress, writing:
“Rahul Gandhi sir, now you cannot blame the EVMs. You are in power in the state, and the elections were conducted using ballot papers. What excuse will you offer now?”
Double Blow for Congress
The election results have dealt a double blow to the Congress, particularly because the party is in power in Karnataka but has still failed to secure any of the four seats.
The party has also been facing internal disagreements in the state. Following considerable political wrangling, D.K. Shivakumar has taken over the responsibility of Chief Minister, according to the report.
Meanwhile, the Congress has been opposing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process and demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The party has also continued to call for elections to be conducted using ballot papers.
Earlier, the Congress had suffered a defeat in an election conducted using ballot papers in Assam as well.
Congress Wins Zero Seats
The Congress contested 12 of the 28 Legislative Council (MLC) seats across four states and lost all the seats it contested.
In Uttar Pradesh, the Congress did not contest any of the 11 seats.
In Karnataka, despite being in power, the party failed to win even a single seat.
In Maharashtra, the Congress contested three seats. Counting was still underway at the time of the report, but the party was trailing in all three constituencies.
In Bihar, the Congress contested five seats and lost all of them.
Thus, the Congress has been defeated in all 12 seats it contested across the four states, dealing a significant setback to the party.
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