MLC election results: Congress faces setback across 4 states; state-wise results and key wins

NEW DELHI: Congress faced a major setback in the legislative council elections on Wednesday, failing to secure a victory in the seats declared so far across Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra, even as counting continued in several constituencies.The biggest setback for the Congress came in Karnataka, where it failed to win a single seat despite being in power in the state. The BJP-JD(S) alliance swept all four legislative council seats, with the BJP retaining three constituencies and the JD(S) wresting the Bengaluru Teachers’ seat from the Congress. The defeat was particularly significant for the ruling party as it lost its sitting seat in Bengaluru Teachers’ and failed to make gains in any of the three BJP-held constituencies.In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP and Samajwadi Party (SP) registered wins, while in Bihar, Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party opened its legislative council account by defeating the Congress. The RJD also scored a victory in Bihar, wresting the Patna Teachers’ seat from the BJP.Counting for 28 legislative council seats across Uttar Pradesh (11), Bihar (8), Maharashtra (5) and Karnataka (4) began on Tuesday following polling on October 23. The elections were held for graduates’ and teachers’ constituencies, with results declared for several seats and counting continuing in others.Here is a state-wise look at the latest results and counting trends.Karnataka (4 seats): BJP-JD(S) alliance sweeps all four, Congress draws blankThe BJP-JD(S) alliance swept all four legislative council seats in Karnataka, dealing a setback to the ruling Congress. The BJP retained the North-East Teachers’, South-East Graduates’ and West Graduates’ constituencies, while its ally JD(S) wrested the Bengaluru Teachers’ seat from the Congress.JD(S) candidate A P Ranganath defeated sitting Congress MLC Puttanna by 908 votes in Bengaluru Teachers’. Ranganath secured 10,810 votes against Puttanna’s 9,902.BJP’s Shashil G Namoshi retained North-East Teachers’ by 3,297 votes, securing his fifth victory from the constituency with 15,596 votes against Congress candidate Sharanappa Mattur’s 12,299.In South-East Graduates’, BJP candidate K M Suresh defeated Congress nominee Shashi Hulikunte Mutt by 23,098 votes. Sitting BJP MLC S V Sankanur retained West Graduates’, defeating Congress candidate Mohan Limbikai by 9,323 votes.The results marked a clean sweep for the opposition alliance, with the Congress failing to win a single seat despite campaigning by chief minister D K Shivakumar, former chief minister Siddaramaiah and other senior leaders.However, the results are not expected to affect the stability of the Congress government or significantly alter the balance of power in the 75-member Legislative Council.Uttar Pradesh (11 seats): BJP wins four seats, SP secures twoThe BJP won six of the 11 Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council seats, while the Samajwadi Party secured three, with counting underway in the remaining constituencies, officials said on Wednesday.The BJP won the Agra Graduates’, Bareilly-Moradabad Teachers’, Lucknow Teachers’, Meerut Teachers’, Meerut Graduates’ and Gorakhpur-Faizabad Teachers’ constituencies.The Samajwadi Party won the Allahabad-Jhansi Graduates’, Varanasi Teachers’ and Agra-Aligarh Teachers’ constituencies.In the Agra Graduates’ constituency, BJP candidate Manvendra Pratap Singh (Guruji) was declared elected.The BJP retained the Bareilly-Moradabad Teachers’ seat, with its candidate Hari Singh Dhillon defeating SP nominee Danish Akhtar by 17,676 votes. Dhillon secured 21,672 votes against Akhtar’s 3,996 after all five rounds of counting.The BJP also won the Lucknow Teachers’ constituency, where its candidate Umesh Dwivedi defeated SP’s Sushil Kumar by 6,992 votes. Dwivedi secured 13,179 votes against Kumar’s 8,371.In Meerut, the BJP won both the Teachers’ and Graduates’ constituencies. Its candidates Dinesh Kumar Goyal and Shri Chand Sharma were declared winners in the Graduates’ and Teachers’ seats, respectively.The BJP also retained the Gorakhpur-Faizabad Teachers’ constituency, with its candidate Dhruv Tripathi defeating Independent candidate Rajiv Yadav by 307 votes. Tripathi secured 14,887 votes against Yadav’s 14,580.However, Yadav alleged that the election had been manipulated to ensure his defeat. Claiming that around 1,000 votes had been stolen, he said he would approach the Election Commission and the court to challenge the result. He also demanded a forensic examination of 1,612 votes counted in the fourth round, alleging irregularities in the counting process.Disputes had arisen earlier over the vote margin and counting procedures. Candidates raised objections after 52 more votes were found in a ballot box from a booth in Mau than were recorded in the official data. Additional Commissioner of Ayodhya Ajay Saini was removed following a complaint by a candidate. The administration maintained that the counting was being conducted according to the rules.In the Allahabad-Jhansi Graduates’ constituency, SP candidate Mansingh Yadav was declared elected, while the party’s Lal Bihari Yadav won the Varanasi Teachers’ seat. SP MP from Chandauli Virendra Singh questioned the district administration over an alleged delay of around six hours in announcing the Varanasi result.In the Agra-Aligarh Teachers’ constituency, SP candidate Akash Agrawal defeated BJP’s Hari Kishore Tiwari. Agrawal received his election certificate at the counting centre in Agra on Wednesday.Earlier, SP president Akhilesh Yadav claimed victory and shared a video on X showing Agrawal wearing a torn kurta. His supporters alleged that he had been assaulted."Let the BJP explain how the treatment meted out by its people to SP MLC candidate, Akash Agrawal, who is winning from Agra, can be justified," he said.The former chief minister urged the Election Commission, the Supreme Court and the President to take immediate cognisance of the matter. He said society was deeply outraged by what he described as "inhumane treatment" and "violence" against Agrawal."Even the Agrawal community has now realised that in truth, the BJP is no one's ally," he claimed.The MLC polls are being viewed as a prestige battle between the ruling BJP and the opposition SP ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. Voting for the 11 seats, comprising five Graduates’ and six Teachers’ constituencies, was held on Friday, with counting beginning at 8 am on Tuesday.Bihar (8 seats): Jan Suraaj opens account, RJD defeats BJP veteranThe Bihar Legislative Council elections delivered several upsets, with five sitting MLCs losing their seats and the Jan Suraaj Party securing its maiden victory in the Upper House.Of the eight seats, which went to polls on October 23, the BJP won three, Independents secured two, while the RJD, Jan Suraaj Party and NDA partner JD(U) won one seat each.Jan Suraaj Party candidate Suresh Prasad Rai defeated sitting Congress MLC Madan Mohan Jha in the Darbhanga Teachers’ constituency, marking the party’s first win in the Bihar Legislative Council.BJP candidate Narendra Prasad Singh won the Tirhut Teachers’ seat, defeating CPI MLC Sanjay Kumar Singh, who had the support of the INDIA bloc.In another major upset, RJD candidate Sanjeev Kumar defeated veteran BJP MLC Nawal Kishore Yadav in the Patna Teachers’ constituency, ending the latter’s long hold on the seat.Independent candidate Rahul Raj also defeated sitting MLC Afaq Ahmed in the Saran Teachers’ constituency.Meanwhile, JD(U)’s Neeraj Kumar retained the Patna Graduates’ seat for a fourth consecutive term, defeating his rivals despite a challenge from within his party. BJP candidates Sarvesh Kumar and N K Yadav retained the Darbhanga Graduates’ and Kosi Graduates’ seats, respectively.Independent candidate Bansi Dhar Brajwasi also retained the Tirhut Graduates’ constituency, while two other seats went to the BJP and Independents as part of the overall tally.The Congress, which contested five seats, failed to win any and is now left with just one member in the 75-member Bihar Legislative Council.The polls saw 90 candidates contesting four Graduates’ constituencies and 60 candidates in four Teachers’ constituencies. The four Graduates’ seats had 4.92 lakh eligible voters, while the four Teachers’ constituencies had 40,253 voters.Maharashtra (5 seats): BJP's Sudhakar Kohale leads Congress in NagpurThe BJP-led ruling Mahayuti won two seats in Maharashtra, while the opposition NCP (SP) bagged two, as results were declared for four of the five Legislative Council seats.Shiv Sena candidate Kiran Sarnaik won the Amravati Teachers’ constituency, while BJP candidate Kaustubh Gawade emerged victorious in the Pune Teachers’ constituency.In the Pune Graduates’ constituency, NCP (SP) candidate Harshada Deshmukh-Jadhav won, while party candidate Pratapsinh Patil secured victory in the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad) Graduates’ constituency.Counting continued in the Nagpur Division Graduates’ constituency, where BJP candidate Sudhakar Kohale was leading sitting Congress MLC Abhijit Wanjari by over 4,000 votes after the second round.Kohale secured 60,924 votes against Wanjari’s 56,630, while Independent candidate Nitesh Karale received 24,249 votes. A total of 15,106 votes were declared invalid.None of the candidates had reached the winning quota of 75,438 votes, leaving the final outcome dependent on further counting and the transfer of preferential votes.The polls, held on October 23, saw 182 candidates contesting across three Graduates’ and two Teachers’ constituencies. The results are being watched amid rebel candidates, alliance differences and efforts by the BJP-led Mahayuti and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi to consolidate support.The terms of the sitting members are due to end on December 6, and the election process is scheduled to be completed by October 31.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.