Union Home Minister Amit Shah joined Prime Minister Narendra Modi in criticising Congress over its performance in Legislative Council elections across Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar and Karnataka. Both leaders highlighted the use of ballot papers, linking the results to the Opposition’s demand for alternatives to Electronic Voting Machines.
MLC Results Trigger Amit Shah’s Ballot Box Jibe
Shah shared a social media graphic portraying Congress as winning zero seats and featuring the slogan “Ballot Box, resign!” The image mocked the party’s criticism of the electoral process by suggesting that defeat had continued despite paper-ballot voting.
PTI described the zero-seat tally as a claim made by BJP leaders. That distinction matters because published accounts differed on the Congress’s overall performance.
Modi Questions Congress Performance In Ballot Polls
Modi also drew attention to the voting method used in the 28 council contests across four states. His social media message invited readers to consider Congress’s performance in elections conducted with paper ballots. His official website presented the remarks as criticism of the party’s electoral showing.
The political exchange comes amid Rahul Gandhi’s questions about EVM transparency and Congress’s demand for ballot-paper voting. BJP leaders used the council contests to challenge that campaign. Their criticism remains a political argument; election outcomes alone do not establish whether concerns about voting technology are valid.
Karnataka Results Add To Congress Setback
In Karnataka, the BJP–JD(S) alliance won all four seats in the contests covered by the available accounts. The BJP retained three, while JD(S) captured one from Congress, delivering a setback to the state’s ruling party.
However, the supplied article contradicts itself by saying Congress previously held all four seats while also stating that the BJP retained three. The latter account supports describing the outcome as an alliance sweep, without claiming Congress lost four previously held seats.
Congress Tally Needs Careful Attribution
The overall zero-seat assertion should be attributed to BJP leaders rather than presented as an undisputed final result. An Indian Express account stated that Congress won one seat in Maharashtra’s Nagpur, contradicting the zero tally in the supplied article. Some counting was also described as ongoing.
The central development is therefore the political confrontation: Shah and Modi used the ballot-paper contests to attack Congress, bringing the debate over election transparency back into focus.
