The Indian National Congress failed to win a single seat in the biennial Legislative Council (MLC) elections held across four states—Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Maharashtra. The party contested a total of 28 seats but did not secure a victory in any of them.
The Situation in Karnataka: BJP-JD(S) 4, Congress 0
In Karnataka, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)—an alliance between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Janata Dal (Secular) [JD(S)]—achieved a resounding 4-0 victory:
Bengaluru Teachers’ Constituency: The ruling party suffered its biggest blow when JD(S) candidate A.P. Ranganath defeated the incumbent Congress MLC, Puttanna, by 908 votes. Ranganath secured 10,810 votes, while Puttanna received 9,902.
North-East Teachers’ Constituency: Incumbent BJP MLC Shashil G. Namoshi defeated Congress’s Sharanappa Mattur by 3,297 votes. This marks Namoshi’s fifth consecutive victory. The constituency falls within Kalaburagi, the home region of AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge.
South-East Graduates’ Constituency: BJP candidate K.M. Suresh defeated Congress candidate Shashi Hulikunte Mutt by a significant margin of 23,098 votes.
West Graduates’ Constituency: Incumbent BJP MLC S.V. Sankanur retained his seat, defeating Congress candidate Mohan Limbikai by 9,323 votes.
A Major Setback: Congress Defeated in All 4 MLC Seats in Karnataka
This defeat is particularly significant as these constituencies represent educated professionals and teachers. It raises questions regarding the extent of the ruling party’s influence among professional voters. In these elections, paper ballots were used instead of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). The opposition BJP responded immediately, taking a dig at the Congress party’s long-standing stance on the voting system. This result serves as a strategic advantage for the BJP-JD(S) alliance ahead of the upcoming assembly elections, demonstrating strong synergy between the coalition partners against the ruling Congress administration.
What happened in the other 3 states?
Bihar (8 seats): NDA 4, Jan Suraaj 1, RJD 1, Independent 1
The results of the Legislative Council elections in Bihar were mixed for the major alliances, but the most significant development was the impressive debut of a new political party:
In a notable political development, Prashant Kishor’s newly formed ‘Jan Suraaj Party’ opened its account. Its candidate, Dr. Suresh Prasad Rai, won from the Darbhanga Teachers’ constituency, defeating the incumbent Congress MLC, Madan Mohan Jha, by 324 votes.
Narendra Prasad Singh of the BJP won the Tirhut Teachers’ seat, defeating independent candidate Bhushan Kumar Jha.
A major setback for the BJP was the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) securing the Patna Teachers’ seat. The RJD’s Dr. Sanjeev Singh defeated the incumbent BJP MLC, Nawal Kishore Yadav, who had held the seat for nearly three decades.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s party, the JD(U), performed exceptionally well in the Graduates’ constituencies, with Neeraj Kumar emerging victorious from Patna.
Rahul Raj, a rebel BJP candidate who ran as an independent after failing to secure an NDA ticket, won from the Saran Teachers’ constituency.
Uttar Pradesh (11 seats): BJP 6+, SP 2
In Uttar Pradesh, the election turned into a direct contest between the ruling BJP and the Samajwadi Party (SP), led by Akhilesh Yadav, with the Congress party being completely sidelined. The BJP retained its key strongholds, securing victories in the Bareilly-Moradabad Teachers’ constituency, the Lucknow Teachers’ constituency, and both the Teachers’ and Graduates’ constituencies in Meerut.
The SP posed a stiff challenge to the ruling party in these religious and cultural hubs, winning the Varanasi Teachers’ constituency and the Agra-Aligarh Teachers’ constituency. In Maharashtra (5 seats), these highly anticipated elections were viewed as a battle of prestige between the ruling ‘Mahayuti’ alliance and the opposition ‘Maha Vikas Aghadi’ (MVA).
In the Nagpur Division Graduates’ constituency—traditionally a significant seat—the incumbent Congress MLC, Abhijit Vanjari, was trailing behind BJP candidate Sudhakar Kohale. As the counting of preferential votes progressed, Kohale further consolidated his lead.
The ruling alliance also maintained its lead in the Amravati Teachers’ constituency, where Shiv Sena candidate Kiran Sarnaik was well ahead of his rivals.
With agency inputs