Hardik Patel taunts Congress: 0 of 28 MLC seats won on ballot papers
Synopsis
Hardik Patel's post may be short, but its sting is precise: Congress won none of the 28 Legislative Council seats contested on ballot papers across four states — the exact method the party has been demanding as an EVM alternative. Coming from a former Patidar agitation leader who once embarrassed the BJP, the jab is harder to dismiss than the usual ruling-party boilerplate.
Key Takeaways
Gujarat BJP MLA Hardik Patel attacked Congress on 28 October 2026 after the party won zero of 28 MLC seats across Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar , and Karnataka .
All 28 constituencies used ballot papers — the method Congress has championed as an alternative to EVMs.
In Karnataka , the BJP–JD(S) alliance swept all four seats, including the Bengaluru Teachers' seat previously held by Congress.
Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party won its first-ever Legislative Council seat in Bihar, defeating former Bihar Congress president Madan Mohan Jha .
Patel joined BJP on 2 June 2022 after resigning from Congress, and won the Viramgam seat in December 2022 by over 51,000 votes .
Gujarat Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Hardik Patel on Wednesday, 28 October 2026 sharply criticised the Congress over its performance in Legislative Council elections across four states, pointing out that the party failed to win a single seat despite polls being conducted using ballot papers — the very method Congress has championed as an alternative to electronic voting machines (EVMs).
What Hardik Patel Said on X
In a post on social media platform X, Patel wrote: '4 major states. 28 MLC seats. Elections conducted using ballot papers! Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar and Karnataka. Now, take a guess: how many of these 28 seats did Congress actually win? No slogans. No excuses. Just look at the results!'
The post landed as counting and result declarations were still under way across the 28 Legislative Council seats in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, and Karnataka. For the BJP, the Congress's ballot-paper shutout provided ready ammunition against the Opposition's long-running EVM narrative.
State-by-State Snapshot
The outcome in Karnataka proved a particularly stinging setback for the Congress, which governs the state. The BJP–Janata Dal (Secular) alliance swept all four Legislative Council seats there, including the Bengaluru Teachers' constituency previously held by the Congress.
In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP won four seats and the Samajwadi Party secured two, with counting continuing in other constituencies. In Bihar, the results threw up notable upsets: Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party won its first-ever Legislative Council seat after its candidate Suresh Rai defeated former Bihar Congress president Madan Mohan Jha in the Darbhanga Teachers' constituency. Separately, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) wrested the Patna Teachers' seat from five-term BJP MLC Nawal Kishore Yadav. Results in Maharashtra were still emerging at the time of reporting.
Why Patel's Attack Carries Extra Weight
Patel's criticism of Congress is freighted with personal history. He rose to national prominence in 2015 as the face of the Patidar reservation agitation, which directly challenged the then BJP-led government in Gujarat. His movement energised anti-BJP sentiment ahead of the 2017 Gujarat Assembly elections, during which Congress improved its tally against the ruling party.
Patel joined the Congress in March 2019 and was appointed working president of the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee in July 2020. Growing differences with the party's leadership led him to resign on 18 May 2022, citing concerns about the party's functioning. He formally joined the BJP on 2 June 2022 in Gandhinagar.
At the December 2022 Gujarat Assembly elections, Patel contested from Viramgam on a BJP ticket, defeating Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Amarsinh Thakor by more than 51,000 votes to enter the Assembly as a BJP MLA.
The Broader Political Context
The MLC results feed into a pointed debate about electoral credibility. Congress and several Opposition parties have repeatedly questioned EVMs, calling for a return to ballot papers on grounds of transparency. The fact that the party failed to open its account across 28 seats contested entirely on ballot papers hands its critics a sharp counter-argument.
Notably, these are teachers' and graduates' constituencies — electorates that differ structurally from mass popular vote contests — but the symbolism of a clean sweep against Congress on paper ballots is unlikely to be set aside easily in political discourse. With Maharashtra results still trickling in, the final tally could sharpen or soften the picture further.
Point of View
And these results hand the BJP a factual counter that is difficult to rebut in a soundbite war. Yet the caveat matters: teachers' and graduates' constituency electorates are small, organisation-heavy, and structurally unlike general elections — making straight-line extrapolation misleading. What is harder to explain away is the Karnataka result, where Congress governs the state and still lost all four seats to the BJP-JD(S) combine, including a seat it held. That speaks to organisational weakness in its own backyard, not merely to the ballot-paper debate. Patel's voice amplifies the attack precisely because he experienced Congress's internal dysfunction first-hand — his credibility as a critic is not purely partisan.
NationPress
28 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Hardik Patel say about Congress and the MLC election results?
Patel posted on X that Congress won none of the 28 Legislative Council seats across Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, and Karnataka, all of which were contested using ballot papers. He challenged the party to respond without 'slogans or excuses', pointing to the results as a direct rebuttal of Congress's anti-EVM stance.
Why does the ballot-paper angle matter politically?
Congress has repeatedly alleged EVM tampering and demanded a return to ballot papers for greater electoral transparency. The MLC results, conducted entirely on paper ballots, undercut that argument by showing the party failed to win a single seat under the very system it has advocated.
What were the key results in Karnataka and Bihar?
In Karnataka, the BJP–JD(S) alliance swept all four Legislative Council seats, including the Bengaluru Teachers' constituency previously held by Congress. In Bihar, Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party won its first-ever MLC seat, with candidate Suresh Rai defeating former Bihar Congress president Madan Mohan Jha in Darbhanga.
Who is Hardik Patel and why does his criticism of Congress carry weight?
Hardik Patel is a Gujarat BJP MLA who led the 2015 Patidar reservation agitation against the then BJP government. He later joined Congress in 2019, served as Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee working president, resigned in May 2022, and joined BJP in June 2022 — making his criticism of his former party an insider account rather than routine opposition rhetoric.
Are the MLC results final across all four states?
As of the reporting of Patel's remarks, results in Maharashtra were still emerging and counting in some UP constituencies was continuing. The outcomes in Karnataka and key Bihar seats had been declared, with the full picture expected to solidify by Wednesday evening.
