Twenty-eight MLC seats went to the polls through ballot papers, yet the Congress failed to win a single seat, raising fresh and hard questions about the party’s electoral credibility and organisational strength.

The outcome has also handed the BJP a potent political counter to Congress’ persistent allegations against Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).

The setback is particularly striking in Karnataka, where the Congress lost all four MLC contests it fought, including the seat of a sitting member. The defeat has raised uncomfortable questions about the party’s ability to mobilise its support base despite being in power in the state.

The broader MLC elections across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra and Karnataka have produced results that are nothing short of a major jolt to Congress ahead of the proposed November 1 rally of the INDIA bloc against EVM and “vote chori”.

The grand old party’s inability to secure a victory has renewed questions about its organisational strength, electoral strategy and credibility among voters.

Political observers argue that the Karnataka outcome is particularly damaging. Congress is in power in the state, and the elections represented an opportunity to demonstrate that its government’s political influence extends beyond the Assembly.

Losing all four seats, including one held by a sitting member, raises uncomfortable questions about coordination, candidate selection and the Congress’ ability to mobilise its support base.

The BJP has seized on the results to challenge Congress’ repeated attempts to find fault with EVMs. The party’s message is that electoral outcomes depend on public support, political credibility and organisational effectiveness, rather than the voting mechanism.

The political optics are unmistakable. Congress has long demanded ‘greater confidence’ in electoral processes. Its inability to convert ballot-paper contests into victories allows the BJP to turn that argument against it.

The larger question is whether Congress will undertake serious organisational introspection or continue to focus primarily on alleged electoral-system flaws, says an analyst.

A political observer said, “Ballot papers do not guarantee victories, just as EVMs do not guarantee defeats.”

“Ultimately, a party must win the confidence of the electorate. For Congress, the real challenge is not explaining why it lost without EVMs, but demonstrating that it can still win,” the analyst added.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed Shiv Sena(UBT) Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut to appear physically before it on November 17 in a criminal contempt case over his alleged remarks against the Chief Justice of India (CJI).

A Bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and Vipul M. Pancholi also directed senior journalist Nikhil Wagle, the other proposed contemnor in the matter, to appear virtually on the next date of hearing, while observing that, if required, he could be asked to appear physically the following week.

The development comes after the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) initiated contempt proceedings against Raut and Wagle over their alleged remarks against CJI Surya Kant.

During the hearing, the Justice Kumar-led Bench was informed that Raut had filed a reply affidavit, but a copy of it was not available on record.

The apex court directed the registry to place the affidavit on record and ordered the Shiv Sena(UBT) MP to remain physically present at the next hearing.

Senior advocate Pradeep Rai, appearing for the SCBA, submitted that Raut had made further remarks and that Wagle had deleted the post only after the notice was served. He also referred to Raut’s subsequent social media posts about the burning of the Supreme Court of Albania and the possibility of something similar happening in India.

Meanwhile, senior advocate Indira Jaising, appearing for Wagle, drew the top court’s attention to his detailed affidavit, in which he tendered an unconditional apology for the controversial social media post and sought discharge of the show-cause notice.

Jaising submitted that Wagle had expressed deep regret and did not intend to justify his remarks.

Taking note of Wagle’s deletion of the post and expression of remorse, the Justice Kumar-led Bench said he should appear virtually on the next date of hearing, with the possibility of physical appearance to be considered later.

On October 16, the Supreme Court issued notice to Raut and Wagle on the criminal contempt petition filed by the SCBA, asking them to show cause why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them. At that stage, the top court had exempted them from personal appearance.

The controversy arose after Raut claimed during a media interaction on October 12 that he had seen 60 to 70 judges, including the CJI, playing badminton with BJP leaders in London.

The remarks came after the CJI declined to meet the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, to receive a memorandum concerning the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

The CJI had said that convening such a meeting to discuss pending cases would run contrary to the constitutional principle of separation of powers.

The SCBA had submitted that it was pained to initiate contempt proceedings but felt that ignoring such remarks could encourage similar statements against the judiciary. The matter will now be heard on November 17 at 2 p.m.

Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL), the flagship company of the Adani Group, on Wednesday reported a strong financial performance for the second quarter of FY27, with consolidated revenue surging 74 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 38,023 crore.

EBITDA increased 62 per cent year-on-year to Rs 6,316 crore, while continuing profit before tax (PBT) surged 146 per cent to Rs 2,002 crore, according to its stock exchange filing.

Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani said that the company’s strong earnings growth reflected the maturity of investments made over the past several years and the ability of multiple businesses to achieve scale.

“We live in an age of such intense disruption that the scale of our ambitions must continuously grow. What Adani Enterprises has become very effective at is turning increasingly large and complex commitments into execution at scale across our businesses,” Gautam Adani stated.

“Our investments in integrated energy, airports and AI ecosystems are recent examples. Perhaps, the strongest validation of our execution capabilities is the trust domestic and global investors continue to place in us, choosing to partner with us even amid extreme volatility,” the Adani Group Chairman noted.

For the first half of FY27, consolidated revenue rose 62 per cent to Rs 71,569 crore, while EBITDA climbed 56 per cent to Rs 11,958 crore.

Continuing PBT during the six-month period grew 45 per cent to Rs 3,297 crore. AEL said earnings were supported by the rapid ramp-up of its copper business, which contributed EBITDA of Rs 2,033 crore during the first half of the financial year.

The copper plant continued to scale up production, with sales volumes increasing 5.2 times year-on-year in H1 FY27.

The company also recorded progress across its emerging businesses. Adani New Industries Limited (ANIL) expanded its solar module manufacturing capacity to 10 GW after commissioning a 4.3 GW ‘TopCon’ module line in September 2026.

In the digital infrastructure segment, ‘AdaniConnex’ secured a new hyperscale order of 240 MW for its Navi Mumbai data centre.

AEL’s financial profile also received a boost during the quarter after CARE Ratings upgraded its long-term credit rating to AA with a ‘Stable’ outlook, the highest credit rating achieved by the company in its history.