Nadda: Congress wins zero MLC seats in ballot-paper polls
Synopsis
Union Health Minister and BJP president J. P. Nadda declared that Congress won zero of 28 MLC seats across UP, Bihar, Karnataka, and Maharashtra — all contested on ballot papers — calling it proof that the party's EVM narrative is a cover for the people's rejection.
Key Takeaways
28 MLC seats were contested across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, and Maharashtra using physical ballot papers.
Congress won zero seats in these elections, handing BJP and NDA a clean sweep.
BJP national president and Union Health Minister J.
Nadda called the result proof that opposition claims about EVM manipulation are unfounded.
MLC elections use preferential voting among MLAs and local-body representatives, making them a test of party machinery rather than mass popularity alone.
Nadda congratulated all BJP and NDA leaders on what he described as a 'resounding victory.'
The ballot paper — long demanded by Congress as the antidote to alleged EVM manipulation — has delivered its own verdict, and it is ruthless. On Wednesday, 28 October 2026, Union Health Minister and BJP National President J. P. Nadda pointed to results from 28 MLC seats across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, and Maharashtra, where the grand old party was reduced to precisely zero wins, turning the opposition's favourite talking point against itself.
Ballot papers, zero seats: Congress's own argument backfires
For years, a section of the opposition has argued that Electronic Voting Machines are susceptible to tampering and demanded a return to paper ballots. These 28 MLC (Member of Legislative Council) seats — contested using ballot papers — offered a live test of that theory. The result: BJP and its NDA allies swept the elections while Congress drew a blank across all four states.
Nadda was blunt in his post: 'The problem was never EVMs. The problem is the people's rejection of Congress.' The line lands as both a political jab and a factual observation — whatever the medium, the outcome was the same.
Four states, one story: NDA's sweep from Lucknow to Mumbai
The wins span India's political geography. Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in the Hindi heartland have been consolidating ground for the BJP-NDA combine for over a decade. Maharashtra has swung sharply toward the ruling Mahayuti alliance in recent cycles. Karnataka, where Congress currently holds the Vidhan Sabha, making a MLC shutout there especially stinging for the party.
Legislative Council elections are typically conducted through a preferential voting system among MLAs and local-body representatives — making them a reliable barometer of coalition arithmetic and ground-level party machinery, not just popular sentiment. A zero-seat tally, therefore, reflects a structural collapse of support networks, not merely a bad news cycle.
The EVM debate and what these results mean for it
The demand for ballot papers has been a recurring motif in Indian opposition politics after every major electoral loss since 2014. Critics of EVMs — led at various points by Congress, AAP, and regional parties — have called for Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trails or an outright return to manual ballots. These MLC elections, which use physical paper ballots, offer the opposition no statistical cover: the technology they asked for produced the same result they have blamed technology for producing.
Nadda's framing — 'every defeat exposes another excuse' — is designed to close that escape route permanently ahead of future electoral cycles.
Twenty-eight seats, four states, zero Congress wins. The ballot paper has spoken, and it has said the same thing the EVM has been saying for years.
Point of View
The ruling party aims to permanently neutralise the EVM-rigging argument before it can gain traction in the next major election cycle. A zero-seat tally across four geographically diverse states — including Karnataka, where Congress holds state power — signals a deeper organisational fragility than any single loss would suggest. For Congress, the results are doubly damaging: they lose the seats and the alibi simultaneously. The broader pattern points to a hardening of NDA dominance in upper-house and indirect elections, where coalition management and grassroots party structure matter more than media messaging.
NationPress
28 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What are MLC elections in India?
MLC stands for Member of Legislative Council. Legislative Councils exist in six Indian states and serve as upper houses of state legislatures. MLC elections are typically held through preferential voting among MLAs, local-body representatives, teachers, and graduates — not direct public voting, which is why they test party organisation rather than mass appeal.
Why did Congress win zero MLC seats in these four states?
According to BJP president J. P. Nadda, the results reflect the people's rejection of Congress rather than any electoral-system issue. Congress has struggled to maintain organisational strength in UP, Bihar, and Maharashtra, and even in Karnataka — where it governs — its coalition support among local-body representatives was insufficient to win upper-house seats.
What is the connection between these MLC elections and the EVM debate?
Opposition parties including Congress have repeatedly alleged that EVMs (Electronic Voting Machines) are vulnerable to manipulation and demanded a return to ballot papers. These 28 MLC seats were contested using ballot papers, and Congress still won zero — undermining the argument that EVM use is responsible for the party's losses.
Which states saw BJP-NDA victories in these MLC elections?
BJP and its NDA allies won across all four states mentioned: Uttar Pradesh , Bihar , Karnataka , and Maharashtra , accounting for a total of 28 MLC seats .
What did J. P. Nadda say about the MLC election results?
Nadda stated that Congress was 'reduced to ZERO' in 28 MLC seats across four states and declared that 'the problem was never EVMs — the problem is the people's rejection of Congress.' He extended congratulations to all BJP and NDA leaders on the victory.
