Congress draws a blank in MLC polls held across four states, including Karnataka; PM Modi takes a dig at the party for losing the polls held through “ballot papers”

Congress failed to win a single seat across four states in MLC polls.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi (ANI) and PM Modi (DD)

The grand old party, Congress, has suffered a humiliating defeat in the Legislative Council polls held for 28 seats across four states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, and Karnataka. In a major political embarrassment, the party lost all four Legislative Council seats, including one held by a sitting Congress MLC in Karnataka, where it is in power, prompting a stinging jibe from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

After the announcement of the Legislative Council poll results, he took a dig at the Congress party for its embarrassing performance despite the voting taking place through ballot. “MLC elections in 28 seats across 4 big states – Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar and Karnataka. Elections were held using ballot papers. Guess how many seats Congress won?” PM Modi wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

All the 4 seats in Karnataka were won by the BJP-JD(S) alliance in the polls held on October 23, 2026. The BJP won the North-East Teachers’, South-East Graduates’ and West Graduates’ constituencies, and JD(S) bagged the Bengaluru Teachers’ Constituency from the sitting Congress MLC Puttanna. Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar addressed the media after the declaration of the poll results.

“We accept the verdict with respect; the people have given us a message, we will examine it thoroughly and work to rectify it,” Shivakumar said, adding that he was expecting a win on two of the four seats. “We need to get our party workers ready and strengthen our organisation,” he said.

In the North-East Teachers’ Constituency, BJP’s sitting MLC Shashil G Namoshi defeated Congress candidate Sharanappa Mattur by 3,297 votes. Namoshi got 15,596 votes, winning the seat for the fifth time. Notably, the constituency includes the segment, which covers Kalaburagi, the home turf of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, and neighbouring districts of the Kalyana Karnataka region.

In the South-East Graduates’ Constituency, BJP candidate KM Suresh defeated Congress’ Shashi Hulikunte Mutt by 23,098 votes. In the West Graduates’ Constituency, sitting BJP MLC SV Sankanur defeated Congress candidate Mohan Limbikai by 9,323 votes. While Sankanur secured 33,711 votes, Limbikai got 24,388 votes. In the Bengaluru Teachers’ Constituency, JD(S) candidate AP Ranganath defeated sitting Congress MLC Puttanna by 908 votes. Ranganath secured 10,810 votes against Puttanna’s 9,902. 

The composition of the 75-member Legislative Council now looks like this: the Congress has 37 members in the assembly, and the BJP-JD(S) alliance has 31 members, comprising 24 from the BJP and 7 from the JD(S). There is one Independent member, Chairman Saleem Ahmed. Five seats reserved for nominated members are currently lying vacant.

Considering the fact that Congress is in power in Karnataka, the poll results might be an indicator of a shift in people’s mood. It also marks a setback for Shivakumar, who was closely monitoring the elections and had sent his ministers to take part in the election campaign in the poll-bound constituencies.

Furthermore, as counting for five constituencies in the Maharashtra Legislative Council began, the BJP-led government Mahayuti led in three seats and the opposition NCP (SP) led in two. Similarly, five of the eleven seats in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council were won by the BJP, three by the Samajwadi Party, while counting for the remaining seats was underway.

In the Darbhanga Teachers constituency, Suresh Prasad Rai defeated incumbent Congress MLC Madan Mohan Jha by 324 votes, opening the Jan Suraaj Party’s account in the Bihar Legislative Council elections. In Patna Graduates, Neeraj Kumar of JD(U) defeated the RJD candidate. The RJD won the Patna Teachers’ seat, while the BJP secured the Tirhut Teachers’ seat. In Saran Teachers, independent candidate Rahul Raj beat incumbent MLC Afaq Ahmed. Kosi Graduates Constituency also went to the saffron party. The remaining seats were being counted.

The poll results not only mark an electoral defeat for the Congress Party but also puncture the party’s false narrative alleging Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) tampering and election irregularities. The Legislative Council polls were held through ballot papers, and still the Congress Party failed to get even a single seat, even in the state ruled by it.

Written by OpIndia Staff
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