Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday took a sharp swipe at the Congress over its dismal performance in the Legislative Council (MLC) elections across four major states, mockingly asking the opposition party to guess how many seats it had won in the polls held through ballot papers.
"MLC elections in 28 seats across 4 big states - Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar and Karnataka. Elections held using ballot papers. Guess how many seats Congress won? 🧐," Modi said in a post on X.
His remarks came as the Congress failed to open its account in the results declared by Wednesday afternoon. While the party suffered a complete defeat in Karnataka, counting was still under way in parts of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra.
Congress loses all four Karnataka MLC seats
Karnataka delivered the biggest setback to the Congress, which governs the state but lost all four Legislative Council seats that went to polls on October 23.
The BJP retained the North-East Teachers', South-East Graduates' and West Graduates' constituencies, while its ally, the Janata Dal (Secular), wrested the Bengaluru Teachers' seat from the Congress.
JD(S) candidate A P Ranganath defeated sitting Congress MLC Puttanna by 908 votes, costing the ruling party a seat it earlier held. Chief Minister D K Shivakumar acknowledged the defeat and said the Congress had expected to win two of the four seats.
BJP, SP register wins in Uttar Pradesh
In Uttar Pradesh, where 11 seats were contested, the BJP retained several constituencies, including the Teachers’ and Graduates' seats in Meerut and the Teachers' seats in Bareilly-Moradabad and Lucknow.
The Samajwadi Party also registered victories, including in the Varanasi and Agra Teachers' constituencies. The Congress had not secured a win in the results declared so far.
Jan Suraaj opens account in Bihar
Bihar, which voted for eight seats, saw a breakthrough for Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party after its candidate Suresh Prasad Rai defeated sitting Congress MLC Madan Mohan Jha by 324 votes in the Darbhanga Teachers' constituency.
The victory gave Jan Suraaj its first seat in the Bihar Legislative Council. The Rashtriya Janata Dal wrested the Patna Teachers' seat from the BJP, while the BJP won the Tirhut Teachers' constituency. Independent candidate Rahul Raj won the Saran Teachers' seat, with counting continuing in the remaining constituencies.
Maharashtra counting still under way
In Maharashtra, counting was still under way for five seats on Wednesday afternoon. The ruling Mahayuti alliance was ahead in three constituencies, while the opposition NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) was leading in two, according to the latest trends. These were not final results.
What Are Teachers' and Graduates' Constituencies?
Elections were held for 28 Legislative Council seats, 11 in Uttar Pradesh, eight in Bihar, five in Maharashtra and four in Karnataka. Polling took place on October 23, while counting began on October 27.
Unlike Assembly elections, these contests were held in teachers’ and graduates’ constituencies, where only registered teachers and graduates were eligible to vote. Such voters cast their ballots through paper ballots rather than electronic voting machines.
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 "'Guess how many seats?': PM Modi takes jibe at Congress as party draws a blank in MLC polls")
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