MLC election results 2026: BJP dominates, SP wins five seats, Congress bags just one

New Delhi: The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) emerged as the biggest winner in the Legislative Council elections across four states, securing 16 of the 28 seats, even as the Samajwadi Party made gains in Uttar Pradesh and the Congress suffered a major setback in Karnataka.

The BJP won 13 seats on its own, while its allies JD(U), JD(S) and Shiv Sena secured one each. The Samajwadi Party emerged as the second-largest party with five seats, including two constituencies in Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's parliamentary constituency.

The Congress managed just one victory across the four states, retaining the politically significant Nagpur Graduates' constituency in Maharashtra. The result was a setback for the BJP in the home city of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari.

The elections, held across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka and Maharashtra, also saw Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party register its first victory in the Bihar Legislative Council.

MLC election results 2026: Party-wise tally

Uttar Pradesh: SP wins five seats, including two in Varanasi

Uttar Pradesh witnessed a closely fought contest between the BJP and the Samajwadi Party ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.

Of the 11 Legislative Council seats, the BJP secured six, while the SP won five. The elections covered five graduates' constituencies and six teachers' constituencies.

The SP's performance attracted attention after it won both the Varanasi Teachers' and Varanasi Graduates' constituencies.

Among the prominent winners was SP candidate Lal Bihari Yadav, who secured the Varanasi Teachers' seat. The party also won the Agra-Aligarh Teachers' constituency through Akash Agrawal.

The BJP, meanwhile, retained several important constituencies, with Dinesh Goyal winning the Meerut-Saharanpur Graduates' seat, Shrichand Sharma securing Meerut Teachers', Hari Singh Dhillon winning Bareilly-Moradabad Teachers' and Umesh Dwivedi emerging victorious in Lucknow Teachers'.

Although the BJP maintained its lead in the overall seat count, the SP's victories highlighted its ability to challenge the ruling party in constituencies with a more restricted electorate.

Karnataka: Congress draws blank as BJP-JD(S) sweeps four seats

The ruling Congress suffered one of its most significant setbacks in Karnataka, where the BJP-JD(S) alliance won all four Legislative Council seats.

The BJP secured three constituencies, while its alliance partner JD(S) won the Bengaluru Teachers' seat.

JD(S) candidate A P Ranganath defeated Congress veteran Puttanna by 908 votes in Bengaluru Teachers'. Ranganath secured 10,810 votes against Puttanna's 9,902.

BJP candidate Shashil G Namoshi retained the North-East Teachers' constituency, defeating Congress candidate Sharanappa Mattur by 3,297 votes.

The BJP's S V Sankanur and K M Suresh won the West Graduates' and South-East Graduates' constituencies, respectively.

The clean sweep provided a boost to the opposition alliance in Karnataka, while raising questions about the Congress's organisational strength among graduate and teacher voters.

Maharashtra: Congress retains Nagpur, MVA wins three seats

Maharashtra delivered a mixed verdict, with the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) winning three of the five seats and the ruling Mahayuti alliance securing two.

The most closely watched contest was in Nagpur, where Congress candidate Abhijeet Wanjari defeated BJP nominee Sudhakar Kohale by 3,271 votes to retain the Nagpur Graduates' constituency.

Wanjari secured 67,231 votes against Kohale's 63,960 after a prolonged counting process that continued for more than 40 hours.

The result was politically significant as Nagpur is the home city of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari. The city also houses the headquarters of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Elsewhere, NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) candidates Harshada Deshmukh-Jadhav and Pratapsinh Patil won the Pune Graduates' and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Graduates' constituencies, respectively.

The Mahayuti's victories came through BJP candidate Kaustubh Gawade in Pune Teachers' and Shiv Sena candidate Kiran Sarnaik in Amravati Teachers'.

Despite the BJP-led alliance's strong performance across the four states, the Nagpur defeat offered the Congress a politically important victory.

Bihar: Jan Suraaj opens account, RJD defeats BJP veteran

Bihar produced several notable results, including the first Legislative Council victory for Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party.

Of the eight seats, the BJP won three, while its NDA ally JD(U) secured one. The RJD and Jan Suraaj Party won one seat each, and Independents claimed the remaining two.

In the Patna Teachers' constituency, RJD candidate Dr Sanjeev Singh defeated BJP veteran Naval Kishore Yadav, who had held the seat for around three decades.

The result marked a significant defeat for the BJP in a constituency long associated with its senior leader.

Jan Suraaj candidate Dr Suresh Prasad Rai won the Darbhanga Teachers' constituency, giving the party its first representation in the state's Legislative Council.

Independent candidate Rahul Raj emerged victorious in Saran Teachers', while BJP candidate Narendra Prasad Singh secured the Tirhut Teachers' constituency.

Rahul Raj's victory was particularly notable as he contested independently after being denied an NDA ticket and subsequently expelled from the BJP following his rebellion.

What do the results mean for BJP, Congress and SP?

The elections reinforced the BJP's organisational strength across several states, particularly Karnataka, where its alliance with the JD(S) secured a clean sweep.

In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP retained its numerical advantage, but the SP's five victories, including two in Varanasi, provided a boost to the opposition party ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.

For the Congress, the results presented a contrasting picture. Its failure to win any seat in Karnataka was a major setback, while the Nagpur victory in Maharashtra provided some relief.

The results also offered encouragement to smaller parties. Jan Suraaj's victory in Bihar marked an important breakthrough, while the RJD's success in Patna ended a BJP veteran's long hold on the constituency.

However, Legislative Council elections from graduates' and teachers' constituencies involve a different electorate from Assembly elections. Their outcomes reflect political mobilisation among specific voter groups and cannot necessarily be considered indicators of future Assembly election results.