"Guess How Many Congress Won?" PM's Taunt With Emoji After MLC Results

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday appeared to mock the Congress after the principal Opposition party's dismal results in the Legislative Council bypolls across four states, and threw in an emoji for good measure, chucking salt into its wounds.

The Congress failed to open its account in the by-elections held for 28 Legislative Council seats across four states. The party contested 12 of these seats, four of which it had won previously. The biggest setback for the Congress came in Karnataka, where, despite being in power, it failed to secure a single seat.

The Prime Minister spotlighted that the elections were held using ballot papers, throwing shade at the Congress which has been alleging tampering with voting machines and seeking a return to ballot papers.

"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?" PM Modi posted on X, with a monocle emoji, conveying a sense of skepticism or irony.

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? 🧐

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 28, 2026

READ | Congress Fails To Win Any Seat Across 4 States In Legislative Council Bypolls

The Congress played down PM Modi's criticism, calling it rhetoric and doubled down on its demand to conduct upcoming assembly polls by ballot papers.

If Narendra Modi is so confident that EVMs have no bearing on election results, let him prove his confidence in the BJP's electoral prowess through action, not rhetoric. 1. Commit to conducting all Lok Sabha and upcoming Vidhan Sabha elections by ballot paper going forward. 2. Suspend SIR and restore the 13.3 crore voters illegally deleted from the electoral rolls. 3. Terminate Gyanesh Gupta. 4. Repeal the law that gives life long immunity to Gyanesh Gupta. Until Modi acts on these demands, his claims are nothing but hogwash - hollow words no one can take seriously.

— Pawan Khera 🇮🇳 ಪವನ್ ಖೇರಾ (@Pawankhera) October 28, 2026

Smriti Irani, the BJP General Secretary, advised the Congress to take a "reality check" and pointed out that the party lost "even on ballot paper".  

"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. In elections for 28 MLC seats in four major states like Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, and Karnataka, the Congress didn't even open its account," Irani posted on X.  

"The Prince and Company, which insults public opinion after every defeat, should stop making excuses and come down to the ground to take a reality check," she said. 

EVM को कटघरे में खड़ा करने वाले और ‘वोट चोरी' का रोना रोने वालों को जनता ने बैलेट पेपर पर भी निल बट्टे सन्नाटा दे दिया है। उत्तर प्रदेश, महाराष्ट्र, बिहार और कर्नाटक जैसे चार बड़े राज्यों में 28 MLC सीटों पर हुए चुनावों में कांग्रेस का खाता तक नहीं खुला। हर हार के बाद जनमत का अपमान करने वाली राजकुमार एंड कंपनी को बहानेबाजी छोड़कर जमीन पर उतरकर Reality Check लेना चाहिए।

— Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) October 28, 2026

The Congress' most recent iteration for ballot paper demand came after an Indian Express report about the internal workings of the Election Commission.

The Express report detailed how Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi formally objected on record 14 times over 10 months to decisions and orders related to the Special Intensive Revision, or SIR, of electoral rolls process under Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

READ | "We Must Go Back To Ballot Votes": Mallikarjun Kharge At Key INDIA Bloc Meet

The 84-year-old Kharge, after an INDIA bloc meeting in September, said across the country "citizens and political parties are raising grave concerns about functioning of the Election Commission".

"For years, we have demanded answers on EVMs. We have raised questions about voter-list manipulation and unexplained changes in electoral rolls. Rahul ji showed it with proof that it was done in Mahadevpura, Aland, Haryana and Maharashtra. In the same manner parties of the INDIA group all raised questions and objections in this regard. But alas all in vain," Kharge said, adding that the poll body "looked the other way". 

"On EVMs, our position should also be clear. These are machines that BJP decides to use as per its needs, in Rahul Ji's words - to win, get a hung house or lose an election. So we cannot allow them to use these machines any further, we must go back to ballot votes to restore faith and confidence in India's election system," the Congress chief said.

Since 1998, the poll body has increasingly used EVMs instead of ballot boxes and by 2003, all state elections and by-elections were held using EVMs.