The Samajwadi Party (SP) pulled off the most talked-about result of the Legislative Council elections on Tuesday, winning the Varanasi Teachers' constituency in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's parliamentary home turf, even as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won both seats in Meerut and made strong gains in Bihar.
Counting for 28 seats across the Legislative Councils of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra and Karnataka began at 8 am on Tuesday, after polling was held on October 23, and the results produced a mixed picture for both the ruling party and the opposition.
In Varanasi, SP candidate Lal Bihari Yadav won the Teachers' constituency, securing 10,958 votes, while BJP candidate Dr Pramod Kumar Mishra finished second with 6,060 votes. The official announcement of the result was still awaited late on Tuesday night, but the margin was clear enough for the SP to claim victory.
The result was immediately seen as symbolic: Varanasi is the Prime Minister's Lok Sabha constituency, and a defeat there, even in a Teachers' constituency election with a limited electorate of teachers, gives the opposition a powerful talking point.
For SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, the Varanasi win provides a psychological boost and a sharp narrative edge heading into future electoral contests. Party leaders presented it as evidence of discontent among teachers and the educated middle class, groups that form the core electorate in these elections.
For the BJP, the loss in the Prime Minister's home constituency highlights localised discontent and policy friction among sections of voters that will require attention, even though the party's wider performance in the council polls remained strong.
In Meerut, by contrast, the BJP defeated the SP in both constituencies. Shrichand Sharma won the Teachers' seat, defeating SP candidate Nitin Kumar Tomar, while Dinesh Goyal defeated Pramod Bhati to secure the Graduates' seat for the BJP. The double victory in Meerut underlined the BJP's organisational strength in western Uttar Pradesh, where it has traditionally enjoyed strong support among graduates and teachers.
The BJP also won in Bareilly, according to early results, adding to its tally in Uttar Pradesh. In Agra, counting was still under way late on Tuesday, with competitive races in both the Graduates' and Teachers' constituencies. In the Agra Teachers' seat, SP candidate Dr Akash Agrawal led after the second round of counting with 6,701 votes, compared with 4,013 votes for BJP candidate Hari Kishore Tiwari.
In the Agra Graduates' constituency, first-round figures showed Dr Manvendra Pratap Singh, popularly known as Guru Ji, with 5,848 votes, ahead of Shashank Yadav, also known as Seetu, with 5,134 votes. Reports of clashes at counting centres in Agra added to the tension, with BJP and SP candidates alleging attacks on their supporters.
In the Gorakhpur-Faizabad Teachers' constituency, the contest was close after the second round of counting. Independent candidate Rajiv Yadav received 3,753 votes and was ahead of BJP candidate Dhruv Tripathi, who secured 3,610 votes, while SP candidate Dr Sanjay Tripathi received 2,741 votes. Yadav held a lead of 143 votes over the BJP candidate at that stage, though the figures were not the final result.
In Lucknow, the counting process itself became a political controversy. Akhilesh Yadav raised concerns over the pace of vote counting in the Lucknow Division elections, alleging that officials had failed to provide round-wise updates even by the evening. In a post on social media, he also drew attention to a video that purportedly showed BJP workers creating a ruckus at a counting centre.
He questioned whether the Election Commission and the local administration had taken note of the alleged incident, and called for greater transparency in the counting process. The SP chief also alleged that BJP workers were allowed inside counting booths during the election process, raising concerns over counting arrangements.
Bihar produced its own surprises. The BJP made strong gains, winning one seat, while an independent candidate also secured a victory. Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United), or JD(U), failed to win a seat and was not leading in any constituency as results emerged.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party were leading in one seat each, according to counting trends. In the Darbhanga Teachers' constituency, Jan Suraaj candidate Suresh Prasad Rai secured 2,574 votes after three rounds, leading Congress candidate Madan Mohan Jha by 387 votes. In the Tirhut Teachers' constituency, BJP candidate Narendra Prasad Singh led with 1,872 votes, ahead of CPI candidate Sanjay Kumar Singh, who secured 1,713 votes.
Karnataka witnessed polls on four seats across 17 districts, while Maharashtra also went to the polls as part of the 28-seat contest. The elections to the Legislative Councils are indirect elections in which graduates and teachers vote for their representatives, and the results are often read as a barometer of the mood among the educated middle class rather than a direct reflection of the wider electorate.
Even so, parties treat them seriously, since council seats affect the balance of power in the upper houses and provide a platform for opposition voices.
The Varanasi result will dominate the political conversation in the coming days. Losing a Teachers' seat in the Prime Minister's constituency is embarrassing for the BJP, and the SP will use it to argue that the government's support among teachers and professionals is weakening. The BJP, for its part, can point to its victories in Meerut and Bareilly and its gains in Bihar as evidence that its broader position remains intact.
The party's strategists will nevertheless study the Varanasi numbers closely, since Teachers' and Graduates' constituencies are decided by small, well-informed electorates whose grievances, often over service conditions, transfers and pensions, can swing results.
For the SP, the challenge will be to convert a symbolic win into a broader political message. The party has been trying to rebuild its base among backward classes, minorities and professionals, and the Varanasi victory fits the narrative it wants to project ahead of future elections. For the BJP, the task is to contain the damage and ensure that the counting controversies in Lucknow and the clashes in Agra do not overshadow its wins elsewhere.
The Election Commission is expected to formally declare all results once counting is complete. Until then, the trends point to a split verdict: a headline-grabbing SP win in Varanasi, solid BJP performances in Meerut, Bareilly and Bihar, and a JD(U) blank in Bihar that will raise questions within the state's ruling alliance.
The council polls may not change governments, but they have already changed the political mood, giving the opposition a morale boost and the ruling party something to think about.
(Reporting based on India TV, The Daily Jagran and Organiser.)