BENGALURU/MUMBAI/PATNA/LUCKNOW: The Congress suffered a major setback in the biennial Legislative Council elections as the party could not win a single seat, while the BJP and its allies won 16 of the 28 seats that went to polls on October 23 in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
The Congress contested in 12 seats and drew a blank, drawing a swipe from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In Congress-ruled Karnataka, the BJP-led NDA swept all four seats. The Janata Dal (Secular) wrested the Bengaluru Teachers’ constituency from Congress, while the BJP retained the other three seats.
Out of the five MLC seats in Maharashtra, the BJP and NCP-SP won two seats each, while the Shiv Sena won one seat.
Of the eight seats in Bihar, the BJP won three while the JD(U), RJD-1, and Jan Suraaj won one seat each. The remaining two seats went to independents.
Notably, Prashant Kishor-led Jan Suraaj Party made its debut in the Bihar Legislative Council with its candidate Suresh Prasad Rai defeating sitting Congress MLC Madan Mohan Jha in Darbhanga Teachers’ constituency.
In Uttar Pradesh, where results have been declared for nine of the 11 seats, the BJP won six seats while the Samajwadi Party secured three. Results of two seats are awaited.
The grand old party’s dismal performance drew a jibe from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “MLC elections in 28 seats across 4 big states. Elections held using ballot papers. Guess how many seats Congress won?” Modi said in a post on X.