Congress Hits Back At PM Modi Over '0 MLC Seats' Jibe, Cites Nagpur Win & Varanasi Result

New Delhi: The Congress on Wednesday hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his jibe at the party’s performance in Legislative Council elections, citing its victory in Nagpur and raising questions over the BJP’s electoral record in Varanasi, the Prime Minister’s parliamentary constituency.

PM Modi's Post On MLC Poll Results

The exchange followed Modi’s post on X highlighting the Congress’s failure to win any of the 28 Legislative Council seats contested across Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar and Karnataka. Pointing out that the elections were conducted using ballot papers, the Prime Minister asked how many seats the Congress had won, taking a swipe at the opposition party amid its demand for a return to paper ballots.

The Congress responded by shifting the focus to the BJP’s setbacks, particularly in Nagpur, home to Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, and Varanasi, which Modi has represented in the Lok Sabha.

Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate questioned the Prime Minister’s remarks by referring to the 2024 Lok Sabha election in Varanasi, where Modi won with a reduced margin compared with the previous election. She challenged him to explain the result, alleging that the Prime Minister’s victory in the constituency had been the subject of a conspiracy.

Shrinate also warned Modi against returning to Varanasi, claiming that he could face defeat there. Her remarks came as the Congress sought to counter the BJP’s criticism of its performance in the council polls.

Pawan Khera's Challenge To PM Modi

Congress MP Pawan Khera, meanwhile, challenged Modi to support the party’s demand for ballot paper voting in future elections. Khera argued that if the Prime Minister was citing the use of ballot papers to question the Congress’s performance, he should endorse the opposition’s demand that upcoming elections also be conducted through the same method.

Congress leader Ajay Rai also alleged that the MLC results exposed the BJP’s vulnerability and raised allegations of malpractice in the 2024 Varanasi election. These claims were made by Congress leaders as part of their political response to the Prime Minister’s remarks.

In Maharashtra, Congress leader and sitting MLC Abhijit Wanjarri retained the Nagpur Division Graduates’ constituency, defeating BJP candidate Sudhakar Kohale by 3,271 votes. Wanjari secured 67,231 votes against Kohale’s 63,960, retaining a seat that the BJP had held for nearly six decades before his victory in 2020.

The Nagpur result carries political significance for the Congress as the city is closely associated with the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Wanjari’s victory gave the party a counterpoint to the BJP’s criticism of its performance in the wider round of Legislative Council elections.