Lucknow, October 28: The Samajwadi Party has scored a significant victory over the Bharatiya Janata Party in Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s parliamentary constituency, in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council elections. SP candidate Lal Bihari Yadav defeated BJP candidate Dr Pramod Kumar Mishra to retain the Varanasi division Teachers’ constituency. The SP was also leading in the Graduates’ constituency during the initial counting updates.
Lal Bihari Yadav Retains Teachers’ Seat
Lal Bihari Yadav of the Samajwadi Party won the Varanasi division Teachers’ MLC seat, defeating BJP’s Dr Pramod Kumar Mishra.
Yadav secured 10,958 votes, compared with 6,060 votes for Mishra. The counting process involved first- and second-preference votes under the applicable electoral system.
Although Yadav received the highest number of first-preference votes, the count had to proceed to second preferences because the required winning threshold had not been reached. His victory allowed him to retain the seat.
SP Leads in Graduates’ Constituency
In the Varanasi division Graduates’ constituency, Samajwadi Party candidate Ashutosh Sinha was also reported to be leading during the initial counting updates. However, the final result for the Graduates’ seat had not been declared at the time of those reports.
The Varanasi division electoral area covers eight districts: Varanasi, Chandauli, Jaunpur, Ghazipur, Mirzapur, Sonbhadra, Bhadohi and Ballia.
Elections Held for 11 Legislative Council Seats
Elections were conducted for 11 Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council seats, comprising five Graduates’ constituencies and six Teachers’ constituencies. Polling took place on October 23, and counting began on October 27.
The BJP and the Samajwadi Party emerged as the principal contenders. The SP’s victory in the Varanasi Teachers’ constituency has drawn attention ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.
Initial reports indicated that the BJP had retained several seats while the SP also secured victories in Teachers’ constituencies. The final distribution of seats remained a key point of interest as counting continued across the remaining constituencies.
