The Congress on Thursday challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to switch to ballot papers for future elections. This followed the BJP’s loss in both seats in Varanasi. Jairam Ramesh said, “The Prime Minister needs to introspect, but instead, he's sermonising others!” Leaders now want the government to address these concerns.

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The Congress on Thursday stepped up its attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his jibe at the party’s performance in the Legislative Council elections, challenging him to switch to ballot papers in future elections and explain why the BJP lost both seats in his parliamentary constituency of Varanasi.

Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh asked PM Modi to introspect instead of “trolling” and “sermonising” the opposition, citing the BJP’s setbacks in Varanasi and Nagpur, the headquarters of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

“The Prime Minister needs to introspect, but instead, he's sermonising others!” Ramesh said in a post on X in Hindi.

“Before counting Congress's seats, I wish he'd also reflect on why the BJP lost both seats in his own parliamentary constituency of Varanasi, and how Congress managed to defeat the BJP in RSS's stronghold of Nagpur?” he added.

Taking aim at the prime minister over economic concerns, Ramesh said, “Mr. Modi, stop the trolling. Crores of families are reeling from back-breaking inflation, the youth are unemployed, and private investment has ground to a halt.”

“From Varanasi and Nagpur to Lucknow, Prayagraj, and Patna, the people have clearly passed a no-confidence motion against your policies,” he said.

Congress leader Supriya Shrinate also invoked the results to question the BJP’s performance in constituencies it considers politically significant, arguing that the outcome strengthened the opposition’s demand for a return to paper ballots.

In a post on X, Shrinate cited Varanasi, PM Modi’s Lok Sabha constituency; Patna, which she linked to BJP president Nitin Nabin; and Nagpur, associated with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and the RSS.

“BJP lost everything ...when elections happened by ballot,” Shrinate wrote, adding that the party’s “heroism fizzled out”.

Speaking to reporters in Delhi, she challenged PM Modi to commit to conducting future Lok Sabha and Assembly elections using ballot papers. “If the Prime Minister has accepted that ballots have credibility, why not conduct all elections using ballots?” she asked.

Shrinate also questioned the BJP’s losses in Varanasi, where the Samajwadi Party won both MLC seats, and claimed that the prime minister could face a tougher contest in his own constituency in a future election.

“People have doubts in their minds, and it is your job to clear those doubts,” she said, calling on Modi to address concerns over EVMs by backing ballot-paper voting.

Congress leader Pawan Khera widened the party’s challenge beyond voting machines, linking it to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the legal protections available to election commissioners.

“If Narendra Modi is so confident that EVMs have no bearing on election results, let him prove his confidence in the BJP’s electoral prowess through action, not rhetoric,” Khera said in a post on X.

He listed four demands, including conducting future Lok Sabha and Assembly elections through ballot papers, suspending SIR and restoring what he described as 13.3 crore voters “illegally deleted” from electoral rolls.

Khera also called for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and repeal of the law that he claimed grants lifelong immunity to the CEC. “Until Modi acts on these demands, his claims are nothing but hogwash — hollow words no one can take seriously,” Khera wrote.

The Congress’s counterattack follows PM Modi’s criticism of the opposition party over its performance in the MLC elections, despite voting being conducted through paper ballots - a key demand of opposition parties campaigning against EVMs.

The Congress argued that if the prime minister believes EVMs have no bearing on election results, he should demonstrate that confidence by backing ballot-paper voting in future elections.

The BJP and its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) allies won 16 of the 28 Legislative Council seats contested across four states. The Congress won one seat, while the Samajwadi Party secured five seats in Uttar Pradesh, including both seats in Varanasi.