28 MLC polls in 4 states: Congress wins zero, suffers a jolt in Karnataka

The Congress has drawn a blank in the biennial elections for 28 Legislative Council seats across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra and Karnataka, with the results delivering the party its biggest setback in Karnataka, where it is in power. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Janata Dal (Secular) alliance swept all four seats in the state, including one held by a sitting Congress MLC, raising alarm bells over the DK Shivakumar-led government's organisational strength and its ability to convert its position at the helm of the Assembly into support among graduates and teachers.The results, declared or emerging as counting continued on October 28, are not a direct measure of public sentiment across the four states. These elections involve a limited electorate of registered graduates and teachers, and local political equations often play a decisive role.