Modi Mocks Congress Over Weak MLC Poll Showing, Points to Ballot Papers
The Prime Minister used a social media post to highlight Congress's poor results in Legislative Council elections held with paper ballots, sharpening the row over vote-theft claims.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a sharp shot at the Congress on Wednesday after the party posted weak results in Legislative Council (MLC) elections across four states. His point was simple: the polls used paper ballots, not electronic machines, and the party still struggled to win seats.
In a post on X, Modi listed the contests in 28 seats across Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar and Karnataka, then asked voters to guess how many the Congress had won. The Congress failed to win in three of the states and was out of contention in Maharashtra, where counting for five seats was still underway.
For readers who follow politics mainly through headlines, the MLC polls are indirect elections. Members are chosen by a limited electorate, such as local body representatives, graduates and teachers, rather than by the general public. Results in these contests rarely change governments, but they offer a read on party strength and can signal shifts among organised voter blocs.
The timing matters. The Opposition has been pressing for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to resign, alleging irregularities during the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has built much of that campaign around claims of vote theft. Modi's post turned that argument on its head by pointing to a paper-ballot election where the party did poorly.
BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi went further at a press conference, accusing Rahul Gandhi of spreading false claims about India's electoral process. He said the party had stayed at zero in the results and argued that Congress had not made its presence felt, even though ballot boxes and paper ballots were used. Union Education Minister Pralhad Joshi made a similar point, saying the outcome for Congress stays the same whether voters use paper or electronic machines.
Not every result went the ruling side's way. The Samajwadi Party won the Agra teachers' constituency in Uttar Pradesh, and the Rashtriya Janata Dal took the Patna teachers' seat in Bihar. Those wins give both parties a regional talking point even as the national narrative focuses on Congress.
The political temperature is set to rise further. The INDIA bloc plans a mass rally against alleged vote theft at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan on November 1. The NDA, traders and the Sikh community have objected to the date because it is linked to the 1984 riots, and that dispute is likely to share the spotlight with the election fight in the coming days.
Read the original report for the full context: IBTimes India coverage of Modi's MLC poll remarks.
