The elections to be held on 11 Legislative Council seats before the 2027 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh have become a big test for political parties. In this election to be held on October 23, voting will be held on the seats of 5 graduates and 6 teachers constituencies. The impact of the elections will not be limited to just these 11 seats, but it can also have a direct impact on the numerical strength of the Samajwadi Party in the Legislative Council and the post of Leader of Opposition. At the same time, the Bharatiya Janata Party led NDA will face the challenge of maintaining its current dominance in the Upper House.
The 11 seats of the Legislative Council for which elections are to be held include 5 seats in the graduate sector and 6 seats in the teacher sector. Graduate seats include Lucknow, Varanasi, Agra, Meerut and Allahabad-Jhansi. In the teacher constituency, elections will be held on Lucknow, Varanasi, Agra, Meerut, Bareilly-Moradabad and Gorakhpur-Faizabad seats. The tenure of the current members on these seats is ending on 6 December 2026. According to the Election Commission's schedule, voting will take place on October 23 and counting of votes will take place on October 27.
The biggest question before Samajwadi Party is the chair of Leader of Opposition.
Samajwadi Party currently has 10 members in the 100-member Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council. To retain the post of Leader of Opposition, it is necessary to have at least 10 percent of the total membership of the House i.e. 10 members. In such a situation, it is important for the Samajwadi Party to maintain its numerical strength in these elections. Of these 11 seats, three are currently held by members associated with the Samajwadi Party.
Man Singh Yadav from Allahabad-Jhansi graduate seat, Ashutosh Sinha from Varanasi graduate seat and Lal Bihari Yadav from Varanasi teacher seat. Samajwadi Party has again fielded these three. Apart from this, the party has fielded Kamlesh Yadav from Gorakhpur-Faizabad teacher seat and former MLC Kanti Singh from Lucknow graduate constituency. That means for the Samajwadi Party, the competition is not only to gain new seats but also to maintain its current political status in the Upper House.
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NDA has 83 members, BJP alone 79
The numerical strength of Bharatiya Janata Party led NDA is quite strong in the Legislative Council. NDA is said to have 83 members in the 100-member House. Among them, Bharatiya Janata Party has 79 MLCs, while Apna Dal (S), Rashtriya Lok Dal, Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party and Nishad Party have one member each. In this election, NDA does not have the challenge of saving any post like Leader of Opposition, but there is definitely an opportunity to send a message of its political and organizational hold in the teacher and graduate constituencies before the 2027 assembly elections.
Mathematics of 2020 elections is also important
The previous election results of 11 seats are also important in understanding the picture of this time's contest. In 2020, the Bharatiya Janata Party had won 6 of these seats, while the Samajwadi Party had won 3 seats and independent candidates had won 2 seats. This time the political parties are preparing their strategy on the basis of the same old performance. Apart from Bharatiya Janata Party and Samajwadi Party, the activism of Congress can also affect the electoral equation.
Congress's entry keeps an eye on opposition mathematics
At present there is no Congress member in the Legislative Council. Despite this, the party has indicated to contest the elections and has also appointed convenors for 5 constituencies. Due to this, political discussion has also intensified regarding the possible division of opposition votes and mutual coordination. Different political signals have also been emerging regarding the future of the alliance between Samajwadi Party and Congress in Uttar Pradesh. In such a situation, the Legislative Council elections are also being seen as a test of the ground coordination of both the parties.
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Big political test before 2027
The election for these 11 Legislative Council seats is being held at a time when assembly elections are to be held in Uttar Pradesh next year. Before this, voting is to be held for 10 seats of Rajya Sabha on 16th October and exactly one week after that, voting will be held on 11 seats of the Legislative Council on 23rd October. In this sense, these two elections of October will reveal the picture of the numerical strength, organization, alliance and electoral strategy of the parties in Uttar Pradesh. In the Legislative Council elections, a special focus will be on whether the Samajwadi Party is able to maintain its 10-member numerical strength or not and how the NDA maintains its current majority.