MLC Results Spark War of Words Over Ballot Paper Demand
New Delhi, October 28: Political temperatures have risen after the MLC election results, which left the Congress without a single seat. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's post on X has drawn reactions from AIMIM and Congress leaders, with each side offering a different take on the outcome.
AIMIM national spokesperson Waris Pathan said in Mumbai that the Congress must carefully examine the reasons for its defeat. He questioned whom the party would blame for the loss, adding that attributing a defeat to someone else was wrong. In his view, every political party needs to engage in self-assessment.
Pathan said the Congress should think about why it did not succeed at the polls. He emphasised that criticising others is simple, but accepting one's own flaws is equally important. Drawing on a common analogy, he said that when one finger is raised at another person, four fingers point back, and he urged the party to review its performance.
He also noted that Asaduddin Owaisi and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen had not contested the elections anywhere, yet the results were out in the open. He asked whom the Congress would blame when his party was not in the fray. The current outcome, he said, is a chance for the Congress to reflect and to stop placing blame elsewhere.
In Delhi, Congress leader Supriya Shrinate raised the Varanasi issue in response to the Prime Minister's post on the MLC polls. She asked how the BJP had lost in Varanasi and said that elections there had been conducted through ballot papers.
Congress MP Pramod Tiwari also challenged the Prime Minister's remarks. He said Modi might be the first Prime Minister to comment on an MLC poll, which has a limited scope. Tiwari spoke of the Prime Minister's concern, impatience and restlessness, and said he understood the response.
Tiwari added that the MLC election was held using ballot papers, and that the Prime Minister was referring to this while pointing to the Congress's shortcomings. He urged Modi to show courage and asked why he was so troubled. Tiwari further demanded that the upcoming elections in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab also be held through ballot papers.