Union Minister Piyush Goyal on 28 October 2026 shared an AI-generated image targeting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi after the party failed to win a single seat among the 28 Legislative Council constituencies contested across Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, and Karnataka. The post, which went viral almost immediately, underscored a day of sustained political fire directed at the opposition by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The AI Image and What It Showed

The image shared by Goyal depicted Rahul Gandhi dressed as a petrol-station attendant. A fuel dispenser in the image carried the names of the four states where elections were held, while its meter displayed the figures '0.00' — a pointed reference to Congress's tally.

Goyal captioned the post: 'Zero check karlo Bhai'. The image formed part of a coordinated social media offensive launched by the BJP and its leaders following the announcement of results.

BJP's Broader Political Offensive

The Legislative Council results gave the BJP an opening to go beyond electoral arithmetic. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several party leaders also used the occasion to revisit the Congress's persistent criticism of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and its demand for a return to ballot-paper voting. The ruling party argued that the clean sweep — with Congress drawing a blank across four states — effectively undermined the opposition's fraud allegations against the electoral process.

Sitharaman Hits Back Over Tata Remarks

Separately, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman took aim at Rahul Gandhi over his remarks about the Tata Group. Gandhi had alleged that Indian businesses were being treated as the 'plaything' of Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.

'Tata is being criminally destroyed, and no business leader dares say a word. How long will you stay silent? Until they own you?' the Congress leader had said.

Sitharaman fired back in a post on X: 'Being the Leader of the Opposition, I suggest you refrain from politicising every issue. Also, casually labelling commercial and legal matters as criminal is unacceptable.' She accused Gandhi of casting baseless aspersions on Indian industry.

Context: Congress and the Council Polls

Legislative Council elections are indirect contests — typically involving MLAs, teachers, and graduates as voters — and the Congress has struggled in these formats in several states. However, a complete shutout across four states simultaneously is politically significant and hands the BJP a sharp rhetorical weapon heading into upcoming assembly cycles. Notably, this is not the first time the BJP has leveraged a poor Congress performance to question the opposition's EVM narrative; a similar dynamic played out after the 2023 assembly results in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

With the BJP pressing its advantage and Congress facing questions about both its ground game and messaging, the fallout from the Council results is unlikely to fade quickly.