Samajwadi Party makes a notable break in Varanasi as BJP’s grip still covers most Uttar Pradesh MLC seats
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The Samajwadi Party won the Varanasi teachers constituency and is ahead in the Varanasi graduates seat, while the BJP kept most of its Uttar Pradesh legislative council seats despite a full-scale campaign by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
The Samajwadi Party (SP) secured a significant win in the Varanasi teachers constituency, where candidate Lal Bihari Yadav defeated BJP rival Pramod Mishra by roughly 5,000 votes. Yadav also leads the race for the Varanasi graduates seat, a constituency the party had already won in the previous cycle. The result is being read as an important boost for the SP ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath campaigned hard for BJP candidates across all seats, yet the party failed to improve its tally. The BJP retained teachers seats in Lucknow, Meerut, and Bareilly-Moradabad, and won graduate seats in Meerut and Agra. Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said the party would review the outcome after the SP’s gains in Agra and Lucknow.
SP spokesperson Pooja Shukla said the results give the party momentum before the 2027 Assembly polls, pointing out that incumbent governments usually enjoy an advantage in MLC elections. She also alleged irregularities in the Gorakhpur count, claiming that the BJP’s win there was tainted by misconduct.
The counting process was marked by disputes, including an incident in Agra where SP candidate Akash Agrawal reported being assaulted at the counting centre, a claim denied by BJP workers. In Gorakhpur, the SP announced a boycott over alleged counting irregularities, though these allegations remain unverified.
Overall, the SP’s performance in Varanasi and other constituencies stands as a pointed challenge to the BJP’s narrative, while the BJP still holds a majority of seats in the 11-seat legislative council election.