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UP Legislative Council results: BJP wins 6 of 11 seats, SP 5, up from 3; SP takes three graduates' seats
The BJP won six and the Samajwadi Party five of 11 UP Legislative Council seats declared on 29 October, the SP up from three. The SP took three of five graduates' seats and two of six teachers' seats. Akhilesh Yadav alleged manipulation; BJP deputy CMs said it largely repeated its showing.
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The results of the biennial elections to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council from the graduates' and teachers' constituencies were declared on Thursday, 29 October, and the Bharatiya Janata Party won six of the 11 seats and the Samajwadi Party five. The Samajwadi Party gained two seats compared with the tally it was defending, which one report says came at the expense of the BJP. Polling was held on 23 October.
The result
The BJP won four of the six teachers' seats and two of the five graduates' seats. The Samajwadi Party won three graduates' seats, in Allahabad-Jhansi, Lucknow and Varanasi, and two teachers' seats, in Varanasi and Agra. The seats had been held before the election as follows: BJP six, SP three, the Teachers' Party one and an independent one.
The winners
Graduates' constituencies:
| Constituency | Winner | Party |
|---|---|---|
| Meerut | Dinesh Kumar Goyal | BJP |
| Agra | Dr Manvendra Pratap Singh | BJP |
| Allahabad-Jhansi | Dr Maan Singh Yadav | SP |
| Lucknow | Kanti Singh | SP |
| Varanasi | Ashutosh Sinha | SP |
Teachers' constituencies:
| Constituency | Winner | Party |
|---|---|---|
| Lucknow | Umesh Dwivedi | BJP |
| Meerut | Shri Chand Sharma | BJP |
| Bareilly-Moradabad | Dr Hari Singh Dhillon | BJP |
| Gorakhpur-Faizabad | Dhruv Kumar Tripathi | BJP |
| Varanasi | Lal Bihari Yadav | SP |
| Agra | Dr Akash Agarwal | SP |
The Leader of Opposition question
One report says that the Samajwadi Party's strength in the Council now reaches 12 members, which would give it the numbers to keep the post of Leader of the Opposition. It says that the party is set to stay above the threshold of 10 members, which is one-tenth of the 100-member House. No other report found confirms this, so it should be treated as unverified until an official notification or a second outlet reports it. The reports do not give the overall strength of each party in the Council after the results.
The Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council is the upper house of the state legislature. The members elected by graduates and teachers are chosen by voters who are registered as graduates of at least three years' standing or as teachers in secondary and higher schools, and not by the general public or by the MLAs. The elections are held every six years for each seat, and the results are often read as a measure of the mood among educated voters and teachers, who tend to vote on issues such as recruitment, pay and the pension scheme.
Counting began at 8 am on 27 October and ran until Wednesday evening, with the results published on 29 October. Turnout figures are not given. Some of the winning totals were reported: Man Singh Yadav of the SP won the Jhansi-Prayagraj graduates' seat with 60,358 votes, and Manvendra Pratap Singh of the BJP won the Agra graduates' seat with 42,743. In the teachers' seats, Dr Hari Singh Dhillon of the BJP polled 21,672 in Bareilly-Moradabad, Shrichand Sharma of the BJP 18,099 in Meerut, Dhruv Kumar Tripathi of the BJP 16,790 in Gorakhpur-Faizabad in a narrow win, Umesh Dwivedi of the BJP 13,179 in Lucknow, Lal Bihari Yadav of the SP 11,612 in Varanasi and Akash Agarwal of the SP 14,046 in Agra. The Lucknow graduates' seat, won by the SP's Kanti Singh, was taken from the BJP.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said the result sets the stage for the 2027 assembly elections. He called it a double defeat of the double engine, a reference to BJP governments at the Centre and in the state, and alleged that the BJP's six seats were won through fraud and manipulation, citing the Varanasi result after counting and a recount. The INDIA bloc said the results defeat the BJP's anti-teacher and anti-education policies, and Congress leaders alleged administrative delays in counting in Varanasi and Gorakhpur. Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said the BJP largely repeated its previous performance, that it had hoped to win more and that it would introspect, while Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak said the party would form a third consecutive government after the 2027 polls. Tense scenes, including clashes between BJP and SP supporters, were reported at counting centres in Agra, Lucknow, Gorakhpur and Varanasi on Tuesday night.
The results come a few months before the 2027 elections to the state assembly, which are due in early 2027. A gain of two seats does not change the balance of the Council, but it gives the Samajwadi Party a talking point and may help it keep the Leader of Opposition post in the upper house. It is also a result among a section of voters, graduates and teachers, who are not representative of the whole electorate.
Sources
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