State-by-State Analysis: Congress Fails to Win Any Seat in 28-Seat Legislative Council Bypolls

The Indian National Congress suffered a total setback in the recent biennial and by-elections held for 28 Legislative Council (MLC) seats across four states—Karnataka, Bihar, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh.

Despite contesting 12 of the 28 seats (four of which it had previously held), Congress failed to win a single seat.

State-by-State Breakdown

1. Karnataka (4 Seats Total | 4 Contested | 0 Won)

• The Setback: Operating as the ruling party in the state, Congress suffered its most severe defeat, losing all four seats (covering two Graduates’ and two Teachers’ constituencies) to the BJP–JD(S) alliance.

• Key Seat Loss: In the Bengaluru Teachers’ constituency, sitting Congress MLC Puttanna was defeated by JD(S) candidate A.P. Ranganath.

• Political Impact: The clean sweep by the opposition highlights organizational friction within the state leadership under D.K. Shivakumar, particularly given that the losses extended into Kalaburagi—the home region of Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge.

2. Bihar (8 Seats Total | 5 Contested | 0 Won)

• Alliance Breakdown: Seat-sharing talks between the RJD and Congress collapsed, prompting Congress to field candidates independently across 5 seats.

• Key Seat Loss: Congress lost the Darbhanga Teachers’ constituency, previously held by former State Congress President Madan Mohan Jha.

• Emergence of New Players: The Darbhanga Teachers’ seat was won by Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party, marking its electoral debut in the state’s legislative council.

3. Maharashtra (5 Seats Total | 3 Contested | 0 Won)

• MVA Fractures: The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance contested in a fragmented manner, with Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) contesting independently without success.

• Contrast in Performance: Congress lost both of the seats it had previously held. In the Pune Teachers’ constituency, the Congress candidate garnered fewer than 10,000 votes, whereas ally Sharad Pawar’s NCP (SP) secured both seats it contested—including a victory with over 100,000 votes in the Pune Graduates’ constituency.

4. Uttar Pradesh (11 Seats Total | 0 Contested | 0 Won)

• Complete Absence: Despite asserting claims of parity with the Samajwadi Party (SP) for upcoming State Assembly negotiations, Congress did not field a single candidate across the 11 Legislative Council seats (5 Graduates’ and 6 Teachers’ constituencies).

• Outcome: The BJP retained key seats (Lucknow, Bareilly–Moradabad, Meerut), while the Samajwadi Party won the Varanasi and Agra Teachers’ seats.

Summary Table: 28 MLC Seats Results