Samajwadi Party wins five seats, narrowing BJP lead in Uttar Pradesh council elections
India Today reported that the Samajwadi Party won five of the 11 Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council seats, including victories in Lucknow and Varanasi, while the Bharatiya Janata Party retained a six-seat overall lead. Earlier counts had shown the BJP leading the Uttar Pradesh tally, with the party securing five seats and the Samajwadi Party three, as reported by The Hindu. Subsequent reports indicated the BJP won six of the 11 seats and the Congress held a graduate seat in Nagpur, Maharashtra (ThePrint).
The Samajwadi Party also captured the Varanasi teachers constituency and led in several graduate seats (ThePrint). In Bihar, the BJP secured the Tirhut Teachers seat while the Jan Suraaj Party’s margin narrowed in Darbhanga (The Week). Vote counting began across 28 Legislative Council seats in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra and Karnataka, with turnout ranging from 53% to 93% (The Indian Express).