Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party (SP) registered a notable victory in Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency, in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council elections. The party retained the Varanasi Teachers’ MLC seat and was poised for a decisive win in the Varanasi Graduates’ constituency. The SP also secured the Agra Teachers’ seat, although the BJP maintained an overall advantage, winning five seats and leading in another.
The BJP won the Lucknow Teachers’, Meerut-Saharanpur Teachers’, Bareilly-Moradabad Teachers’ and Meerut-Saharanpur Graduates’ constituencies, along with one additional seat. Elections were held for 11 Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council seats, with the results seen as an important indicator of the political landscape ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.
But what exactly are graduates’ and teachers’ constituencies? These seats exist in states with a bicameral legislature, which has both a Legislative Assembly and a Legislative Council.
During the drafting of the Constitution, there was a view that electing some Council members exclusively through educated voters could help limit the influence of caste, religion, money and muscle power.
As a result, MLC elections for graduates’ and teachers’ constituencies follow a preferential voting system. Only registered graduates or teachers can vote in these elections; the general public is not eligible.
Returning to the Uttar Pradesh MLC election results:
VARANASI MLC ELECTION RESULTS 2026
The two Varanasi constituencies attracted particular attention because they fall within the Prime Minister’s parliamentary constituency.
Although MLC elections do not directly reflect the broader electorate’s mood, they can provide insights into regional political dynamics, party organisation and local concerns.
In the Varanasi Teachers’ constituency, SP candidate Lal Bihari Yadav defeated BJP nominee Pramod Kumar Mishra by 4,898 votes. In 2020, Mishra, who contested as an Independent at the time, had lost to Yadav by a much narrower margin of 936 votes.
Meanwhile, SP candidate Ashutosh Sinha was on course for a decisive victory over BJP’s Kedar Nath Singh in the Varanasi Graduates’ constituency.
Yadav said teachers had firmly supported the Samajwadi Party and credited party president Akhilesh Yadav for the win. Speaking to ANI, he said the party had been able to put up a strong contest across Uttar Pradesh because of the positive approach adopted by its national president.
He added that Akhilesh shared the same outlook towards teachers as his father, Mulayam Singh Yadav, who was affectionately known among supporters as ‘Netaji’ and regarded as a leader of the teaching community.
Yadav also maintained that the controversial UGC Bill, which proposed measures to address caste-based discrimination in universities and has been stayed by the Supreme Court, had not influenced the election.
He said the issue had not affected the results because those associated with the bill were divided, while people seeking job security continued to support the SP.
WHAT DOES SP’S WIN IN VARANASI MEAN?
Samajwadi Party leaders portrayed the victory as a possible indicator of political trends ahead of next year’s Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, arguing that it reflected changing sentiment in an area considered a BJP stronghold.
Several SP leaders highlighted the reduction in Prime Minister Modi’s victory margin in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections compared with his wins in 2019 and 2014. During the 2024 contest, Modi initially trailed before recovering to defeat Congress candidate Ajay Rai by more than 1.50 lakh votes.
The Varanasi division includes the districts of Varanasi, Chandauli, Ghazipur, Jaunpur, Mirzapur, Sonbhadra, Bhadohi and Ballia.
For Akhilesh Yadav, the party’s performance in Varanasi provides a psychological boost and a political talking point ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.
In a post on social media, Akhilesh alleged that teachers had faced humiliation under the BJP. He referred to the task of collecting fodder, which he described as degrading and unwanted, and said teachers would fulfil their ‘Guru Sankalp’ by defeating the BJP in the 2027 elections.
For the BJP, the result represents a setback in the Prime Minister’s constituency and points to possible local dissatisfaction and policy-related concerns among middle-class voters.
Congress leader Srivatsa also commented on the result, saying that the BJP’s loss in Modi’s constituency, particularly among educated voters from teacher and graduate communities, was significant with only a few months remaining before the Uttar Pradesh polls.
Despite the defeat in Varanasi, however, the BJP performed strongly in other parts of the state, retaining its position in western and northern Uttar Pradesh.
