The SP’s victory puts the Varanasi Teachers’ MLC constituency in the political spotlight. (Img: X)
Varanasi: The Samajwadi Party (SP) registered a significant political victory in Varanasi, the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as Lal Bihari Yadav secured a second consecutive term in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council’s Teachers’ Constituency. Yadav defeated Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Dr Pramod Mishra by 5,015 votes, retaining the seat for the opposition party in a closely watched contest.
Yadav secured 11,612 votes, while Mishra received 6,597 votes. The outcome reinforced the SP’s position in the Varanasi teachers’ constituency and provided a notable political boost to the party in a region closely associated with the Prime Minister’s electoral identity. Following the announcement, SP workers celebrated the victory with slogans, drumbeats, sweets and congratulatory gatherings that continued late into the night.
The Varanasi Teachers’ Legislative Council election was decided through a preferential voting system, under which candidates must secure the prescribed electoral quota to be declared elected. Since no candidate reached the required threshold through first-preference votes alone, the counting process proceeded to the second-preference stage.
During the first-preference count, Lal Bihari Yadav received 10,958 votes, compared with 6,060 votes secured by BJP candidate Dr Pramod Mishra. The quota required for an outright victory was 11,472 votes. As Yadav fell short of this threshold in the initial count, the election authorities proceeded with the transfer and counting of second-preference votes.
The second-preference counting process was completed in eight rounds. Following the transfer of votes from candidates who had secured fewer votes, Yadav received an additional 654 votes, while Mishra gained 537 votes. The preferential counting process ultimately established Yadav’s victory by a margin of 5,015 votes.
The multi-stage counting procedure extended the time required to determine the final result, highlighting the distinctive nature of elections to teachers’ constituencies in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council, where preferential voting can play a decisive role in determining the winner.
The result also drew attention to Dr Pramod Mishra’s electoral performance following his decision to join the BJP ahead of the election. Mishra had contested the 2020 election as a teachers’ leader and secured 6,830 votes at the time.
His move to the BJP was expected to strengthen his electoral prospects by bringing the party’s organisational support into the contest. However, the first-preference count in the 2026 election showed that he secured 6,060 votes, 770 fewer than his previous tally.
Although the BJP’s backing gave the contest additional political significance, Mishra was unable to overcome Yadav’s lead. The final result underlined the SP candidate’s continued support among voters in the Varanasi teachers’ constituency.
The announcement of Yadav’s victory triggered celebrations among Samajwadi Party workers and supporters. Party members raised slogans, distributed sweets and danced to drumbeats as the result became clear. Congratulatory messages and celebrations continued late into the night.
For the Samajwadi Party, retaining the Varanasi Teachers’ MLC seat represents an important political achievement in a constituency located in the Prime Minister’s parliamentary stronghold. The result is also likely to feature prominently in the political assessment of the UP Legislative Council elections, particularly in discussions around teachers’ representation, party organisation and voter preferences.
The contest demonstrated that local electoral dynamics and candidate-level support can remain influential even in politically prominent constituencies. With Lal Bihari Yadav securing a second consecutive term, the SP has maintained its representation in the Varanasi teachers’ constituency, while the BJP faces questions over its candidate’s failure to improve on his previous electoral tally.
In another significant development in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council elections, BJP candidate Umesh Dwivedi registered a victory in the Lucknow Teachers’ Constituency. The result from Lucknow added another important outcome to the state’s MLC election picture, with different constituencies delivering distinct electoral verdicts.
The contrasting results from Varanasi and Lucknow highlight the constituency-specific nature of Legislative Council elections, where candidate profiles, professional voter networks, organisational strength and preferential voting patterns can influence the final outcome.
As the results are assessed across Uttar Pradesh, the Varanasi verdict stands out for the SP’s successful defence of its seat in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s parliamentary constituency. Lal Bihari Yadav’s consecutive victory, combined with the preferential voting outcome and Mishra’s lower first-preference tally compared with 2020, makes the contest one of the notable political developments of the 2026 UP MLC elections.
