Focus on public issues don't ridicule EC JD U slams Cong over single MLC seat win

New Delhi, Oct 29 (PTI) The JD(U) on Thursday asked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to rethink his party's strategy after it managed to win just one seat in the legislative council elections in four states, and also focus on public issues instead of questioning the Election Commission and the electoral system.

    Speaking to PTI, JD(U) national spokesperson Rajeev Ranjan Prasad said the Congress has consistently demanded elections through ballot papers, but its performance should prompt it to introspect.

    "These MLC elections to 28 seats were held using ballot papers. However, if one looks at the results in these four states, the Congress could barely manage to win a seat, in Nagpur," he said.

    The Congress won just the Nagpur Division Graduates' constituency in Maharashtra, where its candidate Abhijit Wanjarri defeated BJP's Sudhakar Kohale.

    In Karnataka, the Congress suffered a major setback as the BJP and JD(S) together won all four seats. The JD(S) wrested the Bengaluru Teachers' constituency from the ruling party, while the BJP retained the other three seats.

    In Bihar, the Congress, which contested five seats, drew a blank and is now left with just one member, Rajiv Kumar, elected earlier from the Begusarai local bodies constituency, in the 75-member Bihar Legislative Council.

    Of the eight seats that went to polls in Bihar on October 23, the BJP won three, while the JD(U), the RJD and the Jan Suraaj Party secured one each. Independent candidates won the remaining two seats.

    Prasad said the most surprising result came from Karnataka, where the Congress is in power but the BJP and JD(S) together won all four seats.

    He also said the Congress failed to win a single seat in Uttar Pradesh and with polls due in 2027, its poor performance should serve as a wake-up call for Gandhi.

    The Congress, in fact, did not contest in Uttar Pradesh, where it was a direct fight between the BJP and the SP.

    "If Rahul Gandhi can understand the implications of this, he should try to do so. Instead of ridiculing the Election Commission and questioning its legitimacy, he should strengthen the Congress's connect with issues concerning the public. This may help the party gain some ground despite its scattered strategy," Prasad said.

    He said Congress's political fortunes are continuing to deteriorate and its return to relevance appeared nowhere on the horizon.

    "The situation is moving in a direction where the Congress's return does not appear anywhere on the horizon," he said.

    Talking to PTI, JD(U) national secretary Mohammad Nisar termed the Bihar's results a collective victory for the NDA and said voters have shown similar faith and commitment to Nishant Kumar as they have in his father and party chief Nitish Kumar.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)