New Delhi, Oct 2029: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) allies won 16 of the 28 Legislative Council seats contested across Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar and Karnataka, while the Congress failed to win any seat, according to the results reported on Wednesday. The Samajwadi Party (SP) secured five seats in Uttar Pradesh, including two in Varanasi, in the elections held on October 23.
Results were declared in all but one constituency, the Nagpur Graduates' seat in Maharashtra, where BJP candidate Sudhakar Kohale was locked in a close contest with Congress's sitting MLC Abhijeet Wanjari. Counting began on Tuesday and continued overnight in some constituencies.
The elections covered teachers' and graduates' constituencies, where only eligible teacher and graduate voters can cast their ballots. Voting is conducted using ballot papers rather than electronic voting machines (EVMs), making the results politically significant amid the Opposition's allegations concerning electoral processes.
MLC Election Results 2026: State-wise Winners
The following table lists the winners identified in the supplied results report. Names not specified in the report have been marked accordingly.
| State | Constituency | Winning candidate | Party |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uttar Pradesh | Allahabad-Jhansi Graduates' | Mansingh Yadav | SP |
| Uttar Pradesh | Agra Graduates' | Manvendra Pratap Singh (Guruji) | BJP |
| Uttar Pradesh | Bareilly-Moradabad Teachers' | Hari Singh Dhillon | BJP |
| Uttar Pradesh | Lucknow Teachers' | Umesh Dwivedi | BJP |
| Uttar Pradesh | Gorakhpur-Faizabad Teachers' | Dhruv Kumar Tripathi | BJP |
| Uttar Pradesh | Varanasi Teachers' | Lal Bihari Yadav | SP |
| Uttar Pradesh | Agra-Aligarh Teachers' | Akash Agrawal | SP |
| Uttar Pradesh | Lucknow Graduates' | Candidate name not specified | SP |
| Uttar Pradesh | Varanasi Graduates' | Candidate name not specified | SP |
| Uttar Pradesh | Meerut Teachers' | Candidate name not specified | BJP |
| Uttar Pradesh | Meerut Graduates' | Candidate name not specified | BJP |
| Maharashtra | Amravati Teachers' | Kiran Sarnaik | Shiv Sena |
| Maharashtra | Pune Teachers' | Kaustubh Gawade | BJP |
| Maharashtra | Pune Graduates' | Harshada Deshmukh-Jadhav | NCP (SP) |
| Maharashtra | Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Graduates' | Pratapsinh Patil | NCP (SP) |
| Maharashtra | Nagpur Graduates' | Result pending in report | BJP-Congress contest |
| Bihar | Darbhanga Teachers' | Suresh Prasad Rai | Jan Suraaj Party |
| Bihar | Tirhut Teachers' | Narendra Prasad Singh | BJP |
| Bihar | Darbhanga Graduates' | Sarvesh Kumar | BJP |
| Bihar | Kosi Graduates' | N K Yadav | BJP |
| Bihar | Patna Graduates' | Neeraj Kumar | JD(U) |
| Bihar | Patna Teachers' | Sanjeev Kumar | RJD |
| Bihar | Saran Teachers' | Rahul Raj | Independent |
| Bihar | Tirhut Graduates' | Bansi Dhar Brajwasi | Independent |
| Karnataka | Bengaluru Teachers' | Candidate name not specified | JD(S) |
| Karnataka | North-East Teachers' | Candidate name not specified | BJP |
| Karnataka | South-East Graduates' | Candidate name not specified | BJP |
| Karnataka | West Graduates' | Candidate name not specified | BJP |
Karnataka MLC Polls: Congress Suffers Setback
The ruling Congress in Karnataka suffered a significant setback, failing to win any of the four Legislative Council seats. The BJP won three constituencies, while the Janata Dal (Secular), or JD(S), secured the Bengaluru Teachers' seat.
The results are being viewed as a boost for the BJP-JD(S) opposition alliance, although they will not affect the stability of the Congress government.
Karnataka BJP president B Y Vijayendra described the outcome as a rejection of the ruling party and said it offered a political signal ahead of the 2028 Assembly elections.
Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said the Congress respectfully accepted the people's verdict. He acknowledged that the results had fallen short of the party's expectations and said the organisation would analyse the outcome and take corrective measures.
PM Modi Targets Congress Over Ballot Paper Results
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a swipe at the Congress over its performance, pointing out that the Legislative Council elections were conducted using ballot papers, a method frequently demanded by Opposition parties in their campaign against EVMs.
In a post on X, Modi referred to the elections across the four states and asked how many seats the Congress had won.
BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi also criticised Rahul Gandhi over the party's performance, arguing that public support was earned through hard work rather than what he described as leisure trips.
The Congress hit back, challenging the Prime Minister to support conducting all Lok Sabha and forthcoming Assembly elections through ballot papers if he was confident that EVMs did not determine electoral outcomes.
Uttar Pradesh: SP and BJP Face Off Ahead of 2027 Elections
In Uttar Pradesh, the SP secured five seats, while the BJP retained or won several important constituencies. The outcome is being viewed as a significant political contest ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.
SP president Akhilesh Yadav urged winning candidates and party workers to avoid victory processions and communicate their success through social media. He alleged that the BJP might attempt to create disturbances and blame the SP.
Yadav also shared a video purportedly showing SP candidate Akash Agrawal wearing a torn kurta, with supporters alleging that he had been assaulted. He questioned how the alleged treatment of the winning candidate could be justified and urged the Election Commission, Supreme Court and President to take cognisance of the matter.
The allegations were not independently established in the supplied report.
Maharashtra and Bihar Record Mixed Results
In Maharashtra, the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti secured two seats, while the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) won two. The Nagpur Graduates' constituency remained undecided in the reported results.
In Bihar, the BJP won three seats, while the JD(U) and RJD secured one each. Two Independent candidates emerged victorious, and the Jan Suraaj Party opened its account with Suresh Prasad Rai's victory in the Darbhanga Teachers' constituency.
Five sitting MLCs lost their seats, including Congress leader Madan Mohan Jha, who was defeated by Rai by 324 votes, and BJP's Nawal Kishor Yadav, who lost the Patna Teachers' constituency to RJD candidate Sanjeev Kumar.
The results underline the competitive nature of the Legislative Council elections and provide political parties with fresh feedback ahead of upcoming Assembly contests.
