'A BIG ZERO!!': BJP Leaders Take Dig At Congress After Party Draws Blank In 28 MLC Seats Across 4 States

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, took aim at the Congress on Wednesday, October 28, after the party failed to win any of the 28 seats contested in Legislative Council elections across Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar and Karnataka.

The BJP used the outcome to target the Congress over its demands for the use of ballot papers in elections instead of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), with the party and its leaders sharing posts, videos and AI-generated content mocking the opposition party and its leader, Rahul Gandhi.

In a post on X, the BJP said, "Congress lost with EVMS. Congress lost with Ballot Papers. New Demand? Let Rahul Gandhi count the votes himself." The party further suggested that the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha could miscount the votes before saying his well-known phrase, "sorry...sorry...sorry".

PM Modi Questions Congress' Performance

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also took a swipe at the Congress over the election results. In a post on X on Wednesday, he wrote, "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? 🧐"

Piyush Goyal Shares AI-Generated Image Of Rahul Gandhi

Union Minister Piyush Goyal joined the BJP's social media campaign by sharing an AI-generated image depicting Rahul Gandhi as an employee at a petrol station. The image showed a fuel dispenser displaying the names of the four states where the elections were held, alongside figures reading 0.00 to represent the Congress' tally.

Goyal captioned the image, "Zero check karlo Bhai".

Union Minister Anurag Thakur Hits Out At Rahul Gandhi

Union Minister Anurag Thakur also shared a video referring to the Congress' performance and called on Gandhi to take note of the result.

"Rahulji zero check kar lijiye," Thakur said in the video.

Manohar Lal, Tuhin Sinha Target Congress

Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs and Power Manohar Lal also criticised the Congress over its performance in the elections.

In a post, he said, "Now, elections have been held even with ballot paper... the result is the same as expected.. A BIG ZERO!!"

BJP national spokesperson Tuhin Sinha also took aim at the Congress, arguing that the results showed the party's electoral performance remained unchanged irrespective of the voting method.

"Look, the MLC election results clearly prove that whether elections are held via ballot paper or EVMs, the fate of the Congress Party will remain the same as it has been for the past 12 years. Out of 28 seats, the Congress Party scored zero. In Karnataka, where they are in power, elections were held on four seats, and Congress failed to win even a single one. What does this show? The people of India have rejected and discarded negative politics, politics that spreads anarchy, and politics that spews venom..."

Himachal Pradesh BJP Shares AI-Generated Video Of Gandhi Dancing Following Defeat

The BJP's Himachal Pradesh unit also joined the online campaign by sharing an AI-generated video depicting Rahul Gandhi dancing to a song.

The video was accompanied by the caption, "Whether through ballot paper or EVM, Congress's defeat is inevitable anyway... 🤣"

The BJP's social media offensive comes amid the opposition's demands for greater scrutiny of EVMs and calls for ballot papers to be used in elections. The party used the Congress' performance in the four states to argue that switching voting methods would not change the opposition party's electoral fortunes.

JP Nadda Says Ballot Paper Results Give Congress Its Answer

BJP president JP Nadda also targeted the Congress over its performance in the Legislative Council elections, arguing that the results had answered the opposition party's demands for ballot-paper voting.

In a post, Nadda said, "Those who keep clamouring for ballot papers have got their answer in ballot papers itself! In 28 MLC seats across four states, Congress has been reduced to ZERO. The problem was never EVMs. The problem is the people’s rejection of Congress. Every defeat exposes another excuse, but no amount of propaganda can change the people’s verdict! Heartiest Congratulations to all the BJP and NDA leaders on the resounding victory across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka and Maharashtra."