India News | MLC Polls: NDA Sweeps Karnataka as Modi Takes Jibe at Congress; Tight BJP-SP Tussle in UP

New Delhi [India], October 28 (ANI): Counting is underway for various Legislative Council seats across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra and Karnataka, with results declared for many on Wednesday. The BJP retained their seats in Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka Legislative Council elections, while the Jan Suraaj Party opened its account in Bihar, as results across the three states brought victories for the BJP and its allies, the Samajwadi Party, the RJD and an Independent candidate. In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP won 5 and is leading in 1. The SP have secured three and is leading in two.

In Uttar Pradesh, BJP candidate Hari Singh Dhillon retained the Bareilly-Moradabad seat. The party also won the Meerut Teachers’ constituency through Dinesh Kumar Goyal and the Meerut Graduates’ constituency through Shri Chand Sharma. The BJP retained the Lucknow Teachers’ seat as well. 

Also Read | 'Commit to Ballot Paper Elections': Pawan Khera Hits Back at PM Modi Over MLC Polls Jibe.

The SP won the Varanasi Teachers’ Allahabad-Jhansi Graduates' and Agra-Aligarh Teachers’ constituencies. The elections, held ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, are being viewed as a contest between the BJP and the SP.

In Bihar, the Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) opened its account in the Legislative Council elections after its candidate Suresh Prasad Rai defeated sitting Congress MLC Madan Mohan Jha by 324 votes in the Darbhanga Teachers’ constituency.

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JD(U) candidate Neeraj Kumar defeated the RJD candidate in the Patna Graduates’ constituency. JSP candidate Anuj Singh finished third.

The BJP won the Tirhut Teachers’ seat, while the RJD defeated five-term BJP MLC Nawal Kishore Yadav in the Patna Teachers’ constituency. Independent candidate Rahul Raj also defeated sitting MLC Afaq Ahmed in the Saran Teachers’ constituency.

In Karnataka, the Congress suffered a setback after losing all four Legislative Council seats to candidates from the BJP and JD(S) alliance.

Alliance candidate AP Ranganath defeated sitting MLC Puttanna in the Bengaluru Teachers’ constituency, which recorded a voter turnout of 81.98 per cent. NDA candidate Shashil G Namoshi defeated Congress candidate Sharanappa Mattur in the North-East Teachers’ constituency. The BJP also retained the South-East Graduates’ and West Graduates’ seats.

In Maharashtra, the ruling Mahayuti alliance is leading in three of the five constituencies, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) is ahead in two.

Reacting to the results, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a jab at the Congress party following the National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) clean sweep in Karnataka Legislative Council elections, winning all four seats.

In a post on X, PM Modi said, "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?"

Earlier in the day, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw highlighted that the BJP secured all four seats in the Teachers’ and Graduates’ constituencies in the Karnataka Legislative Council elections despite the use of ballot papers.

Speaking at the Union Cabinet Meeting, Vaishnaw criticised opposition parties for holding rigid stances on voting mechanisms without considering actual outcomes.

"Some people don’t even want to consider whether the electoral process should be conducted using ballot papers or otherwise. Just look at what happened in Karnataka; they used ballot papers, and the BJP won all four seats," he said.

Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar maintained that the ruling Congress party respectfully accepts the mandate delivered by the enlightened electorate, announcing that the party will thoroughly review the results and institute corrective measures.

Speaking at a press conference, Shivakumar said the party expected to win one or two seats, but the results did not meet those expectations. He said the party would carefully assess the message conveyed by voters and work to correct its shortcomings.

“Whatever decision the voters give in the Parishad elections, we will accept it with respect. We had one seat. We expected that even one or two seats we would win, but that didn’t happen. The people have given us a message. We will examine that message very carefully and think about it, and we will work on correcting whatever went wrong,” Shivakumar said.

Samajwadi Party (SP) Chief Akhilesh Yadav accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of electoral malpractices and administrative manipulation in key constituencies such as Gorakhpur and Banaras (Varanasi). He claimed the election outcomes marked the beginning of the BJP’s political decline in the state.

In a post on X, Yadav asserted that the opposition’s 'PDA' (Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) alliance had delivered a severe blow to the ruling party.

"In fact, they are secretly happy about the PDA's victory too; no one becomes a stranger just by leaving home. If the scheming BJP folks hadn't pulled that double-cross in Gorakhpur, the same fate as in Banaras would have befallen them there too. All in all, the BJP has suffered a moral defeat in Gorakhpur as well," he said.

The SP chief emphasised that the BJP is bound to fall and all those invovled in corruption will be "hauled before the people's court" once the Samajwadi Party forms a government in the State.

"The MLC elections have packed up the BJP's bags and baggage. Despite extreme dishonesty and administrative tampering, no one could avert the BJP's downfall. All those corrupt officials who served the BJP will be hauled before the people's court once the PDA government takes power," he said.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Pawan Khera launched a scathing counterattack against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, challenging him to back his electoral confidence by permanently reintroducing paper ballots for all major upcoming polls.

In a post on X, Khera said that if PM Modi is confident that Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) do not dictate election outcomes, he should prove it through policy actions rather than rhetorical posts.

"If Narendra Modi is so confident that EVMs have no bearing on election results, let him prove his confidence in the BJP’s electoral prowess through action, not rhetoric," he said.

Counting is still underway in some constituencies. (ANI)

(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)