UP MLC Election Results 2026: BJP Suffers Setback In PM Modi's Varanasi As SP Makes Gains Ahead Of Assembly Polls

Lucknow: The BJP suffered a setback in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s parliamentary constituency of Varanasi in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council elections, where it lost the teacher seat and trailed in the graduate constituency, even as it won six of the nine seats for which results have been declared.

The outcome in Varanasi is politically significant for the BJP, which has made the Prime Minister’s constituency a showcase of its development agenda. The setback comes as political parties begin positioning themselves for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, giving the results an importance beyond the 11 seats at stake.

BJP And SP Share Electoral Gains

The Samajwadi Party, meanwhile, has won three seats, with counting still underway in two constituencies. The results declared so far show a mixed verdict, with the BJP retaining several of its seats while the SP consolidates its position in the teacher and graduate constituencies. SP is leading in the graduate constituencies of Lucknow and Varanasi.

In the previous elections to these 11 seats, the BJP had won six, the SP three and Independents two. The results declared so far leave the BJP retaining six seats and the SP with three, while the final tally will depend on the outcome of the remaining contests.

BJP Retains Key Council Seats

The BJP retained both seats in Meerut, with Dinesh Kumar Goyal winning the graduate constituency and Shrichand Sharma securing the teacher seat. Umesh Dwivedi won the Lucknow teacher seat, while Dr Hari Singh Dhillon retained the Bareilly-Moradabad teacher constituency for the party.

SP Secures Victories In Agra, Jhansi

The SP's victory in Agra, where Akash Agrawal defeated BJP candidate Hari Kishore Tiwari in the teacher constituency, added to the opposition party's gains. In Jhansi, SP candidate Man Singh Yadav also claimed victory by a margin of more than 28,600 votes.

Yadav described his win as a rejection of the BJP's alleged political manoeuvres and a mandate for issues raised by the opposition. He said SP president Akhilesh Yadav had insisted on fighting the election on substantive issues and challenged the BJP to accept the result after describing the MLC polls as a semi-final ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.

BJP Wins Agra Graduate Seat

The BJP, however, secured the Agra graduate seat, where Manvendra Pratap Singh, popularly known as Guru Ji, emerged victorious. He attributed the win to the state government's development initiatives and its efforts for the welfare of graduates.

Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya took a swipe at the SP over its victories, saying the party had opened its account in a constituency where it should not have done so.

Close Contest And Varanasi Tensions

The counting in Gorakhpur remained close, with BJP candidate Dhruv Tripathi winning by a thin margin, defeating Independent candidate Rajiv Yadav by just 307 votes during the second-preference count.

Tensions also surfaced at the Varanasi counting centre, where BJP workers allegedly threw barricades aside and exchanged heated words with police personnel around 4 pm.

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Final Results To Determine Overall Balance

The elections were held on October 23 across five graduate and six teacher constituencies, with 152 candidates in the fray. Voting was conducted through ballot papers.

While the BJP has won the largest share of the declared seats, the Varanasi result has given the SP an opening to question the ruling party's standing in the Prime Minister's constituency. The final results from the three remaining seats will determine the overall balance of the contest.