Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council Elections: BJP and SP Battle for Dominance

The recent Uttar Pradesh legislative council elections saw the BJP winning six seats while the Samajwadi Party secured five, including key victories in Varanasi. SP leader Akhilesh Yadav termed the BJP's performance a 'double defeat,' hinting at a strategic advantage for the SP in the upcoming assembly elections. With significant voter turnout and intense competition, these results are pivotal for both parties as they prepare for the 2027 elections. Explore the detailed outcomes and implications of this political showdown.

By Narendra Chaudhary Oct 29, 2026, 22:09 IST

Election Results Overview

Lucknow: In the recent Uttar Pradesh legislative council elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured six out of the eleven available seats, while the Samajwadi Party (SP) claimed five, including two in Varanasi. The official announcement of the results for the two remaining seats was made on Thursday afternoon.

The SP's Ashutosh Sinha was elected from the Varanasi Graduates' Constituency, garnering a total of 55,046 votes, as confirmed by election officials.

Additionally, Kanti Singh from the SP won the Lucknow Graduates' constituency and has received his election certificate.

Akhilesh Yadav, the SP leader, characterized the BJP's performance as a 'double defeat' and expressed confidence that these results would pave the way for his party's success in the upcoming 2027 assembly elections.

In a statement on X, he noted that the BJP lost in the Varanasi Graduates' constituency during both the initial count and the recount, labeling it a 'double defeat of the double engine government.'

Voting for the eleven legislative council seats took place on October 23, with vote counting commencing on Tuesday.

By the end of Wednesday, the BJP had won the Agra Graduates' constituency, as well as several teachers' constituencies including Bareilly-Moradabad, Lucknow, Meerut, and Gorakhpur-Faizabad.

The SP's victories included the Allahabad-Jhansi Graduates' constituency and two teachers' constituencies in Varanasi and Agra-Aligarh.

Kanti Singh received 51,168 votes, defeating BJP's Avneesh Kumar Singh, who secured 36,313 votes after more than eight rounds of counting.

In the Varanasi Graduates' constituency, Sinha achieved 50,462 votes compared to BJP's Kedar Nath Singh, who received 33,478 votes after the ninth round of counting.

Kedar Nath Singh acknowledged his defeat in a social media post, expressing gratitude to voters and accepting the outcome with humility.

He stated, 'Although we could not achieve the expected success in this election, your affection, cooperation, and trust will always remain invaluable to me.'

These MLC elections were viewed as a significant contest between the BJP and SP, especially with the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections approaching next year.

Prior to these elections, the BJP held six of the eleven seats, including Agra, Meerut-Saharanpur, and Lucknow Graduates' seats, along with Bareilly-Moradabad, Lucknow, and Meerut-Saharanpur Teachers' constituencies.

The SP previously held three seats: Varanasi and Allahabad-Jhansi Graduates' seats, as well as the Varanasi Teachers' constituency.

The remaining two seats were occupied by Independent candidates.