‘Guess how many seats?’ PM Modi mocks Congress after ballot paper bypoll rout

The elections covered 28 Legislative Council seats across Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar and Karnataka.

The Congress contested 12 seats, including four it had previously held, but failed to open its account.

The setback was particularly significant in Karnataka, where the party is in power but could not secure a single seat.

PM Modi mocks Congress over ballot paper results

Taking to X, the Prime Minister highlighted that the elections had been conducted using ballot papers, drawing a parallel with the Congress's repeated allegations of electronic voting machine (EVM) manipulation and its demand to return to paper ballots.

“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 posted, accompanied by a monocle emoji.

The remark appeared to challenge the Congress's argument that a return to ballot papers would address its concerns over the electoral process.

Smriti Irani says Congress needs a ‘reality check’

BJP general secretary Smriti Irani also criticised the Congress, arguing that the results undermined its allegations of electoral irregularities.

“Those who put the EVM in the dock and cry foul over ‘vote theft’ have been given a resounding silence by the public even on ballot paper,” Irani wrote on X, pointing to the party's failure to win any seat in the four states.

She further accused the Congress leadership of questioning the people's mandate after electoral defeats and urged the party to undertake a “reality check”.

Congress dismisses criticism, sticks to ballot paper demand

The Congress played down the BJP's criticism, describing it as political rhetoric while reiterating its demand for ballot-paper voting in upcoming Assembly elections.

The party's latest push for changes to the electoral process followed an Indian Express report detailing disagreements within the Election Commission over decisions concerning the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

According to the report, Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi formally recorded objections on 14 occasions over a 10-month period concerning decisions and orders linked to the SIR process under Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

Kharge renews attack on EVMs and Election Commission

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had reiterated the party's demand for a return to ballot papers following an INDIA bloc meeting in September.

He said political parties and citizens across the country had raised concerns about the functioning of the Election Commission, alleged voter-list manipulation and unexplained changes in electoral rolls.

Kharge also referred to allegations raised by Rahul Gandhi concerning voter irregularities in Mahadevapura, Aland, Haryana and Maharashtra, claiming that the Opposition's concerns had not received adequate attention from the poll body.

On EVMs, Kharge argued that the BJP used the machines to suit its electoral interests and called for a return to ballot voting to restore public confidence in the election system.

How India shifted from ballot papers to EVMs

The Election Commission began expanding the use of electronic voting machines in 1998.

By 2003, EVMs had replaced paper ballots in all state elections and by-elections, marking a major shift in India's electoral process.

The latest exchange between the BJP and the Congress has once again brought the debate over EVMs, ballot papers and the credibility of India's electoral system into the political spotlight.