Ballot Paper, Still We Ask: Kharge Challenges BJP to Dissolve Parliament After MLC Setback

Mallikarjun Kharge, president of the Indian National Congress, reiterated the party’s demand for ballot‑paper voting after the Congress performed poorly in the Karnataka MLC elections, which were conducted using ballot papers. Kharge said the opposition would not abandon its demand simply because the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won the elections. He challenged the BJP to dissolve Parliament and hold elections using ballot papers.

Kharge’s remarks followed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s criticism of Congress for “drawing a blank” in the recent MLC elections, where the party won zero seats until the night of Wednesday, though it retained the Nagpur Division Graduates’ constituency. The MLC elections were held in 28 seats across four large states—Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar and Karnataka—using ballot papers.

BJP national president Nitin Nabin also targeted Congress, saying the party would continue to struggle under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership. During a BJP rally in Delhi, Nabin warned that Modi would return to the Red Fort after the 2029 Lok Sabha elections and accused Congress of opposing revisions to electoral rolls, citing “ghost voter lists.”

The BJP–JD(S) alliance swept all four Karnataka legislative council seats, even though Congress was in power in the state. Congress lost its Bengaluru Teachers’ constituency to JD(S), while the BJP retained three seats.

The debate over ballot papers comes amid the opposition’s repeated allegations of irregularities in electronic voting machines (EVMs) and demands for greater transparency in the electoral process.