'Educated voters don't turn up in assembly polls': UP minister OP Rajbhar plays down MLC results

NEW DELHI: Uttar Pradesh minister Om Prakash Rajbhar shrugged off the legislative council election results after the Samajwadi Party defeated the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Varanasi Graduates' constituency, saying the election reflected the mandate of educated voters rather than the general electorate.Speaking to reporters, Rajbhar said the MLC elections had no connection with the assembly elections.“This is the people’s mandate, the mandate of educated voters, and we welcome the verdict,” Rajbhar said.“However, these elections have no connection with the assembly elections. Historically, educated voters often do not turn up to vote in assembly elections and instead treat the day as a holiday,” he added.The BJP won six seats and the Samajwadi Party won five of the 11 seats in the biennial elections. The results come months ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, widely seen as a test of popularity between the BJP and the SP.Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav described the BJP's performance in the MLC elections as a "double defeat" and said the results had laid the groundwork for his party's victory in the assembly polls.In a post on X, Akhilesh said the BJP lost the Varanasi Graduates' constituency in both the initial count and the recount, calling it a "double defeat of the double engine government".The SP chief said the BJP's defeat "was the defeat of its policies concerning teachers, students and education" and that "the educated unemployed graduates had also delivered their verdict" against the party.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.