NDA wins 3 Karnataka MLC seats, leads on 4th; Jan Suraaj ahead on 1 in Bihar

New Delhi: Counting of votes for 28 MLC seats across Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra was underway on Tuesday, with the BJP-JDS combine winning three of the four seats and leading on the fourth in Karnataka at the time of the story going to press. The emerging results have rung alarm bells for the ruling Congress, with assembly elections less than two years away.

The two Graduates' Constituencies and two Teachers' Constituencies cover nearly two-thirds of Karnataka, and the results came as a shot in the arm for the BJP. JDS candidate AP Ranganath (Bengaluru Teachers) and BJP candidates KM Suresh (Southeast Graduates), SV Sankanur (West Graduates) and Shahil G Namoshi (Northeast Teachers) gave the NDA reason to cheer with their victories.

Of the four seats that went to polls on October 23, three were previously held by the BJP and one by the Congress. With the BJP and JDS contesting as part of the NDA in Karnataka, the BJP fielded candidates in three constituencies, while its regional ally contested one seat.


Counting was also underway for 11 MLC seats across seven districts in Uttar Pradesh. According to the initial trends available at the time of going to press, the BJP was leading on five seats and the SP on three, while trends for the remaining three seats were yet to emerge. In the previous elections, the BJP had won six seats, the SP three and independents two.

In Meerut, the BJP maintained a comfortable lead in both the Teachers' and Graduates' constituencies. The party was also leading in the Teachers' constituencies in Bareilly and Lucknow. In Varanasi, the SP maintained its lead in both the Teachers' and Graduates' constituencies. In the high-profile Gorakhpur Teachers' constituency, BJP candidate Dhruv Tripathi has taken a lead over independent Rajeev Yadav in the second round. The seat witnessed a triangular contest, with independent candidate Rajeev Yadav and SP's Sanjayan Tripathi also in the fray. Sanjayan Tripathi joined the SP ahead of the elections after being denied a ticket by the BJP.

In Bihar, counting was underway for eight MLC seats. The BJP won the Tirhut Teachers' constituency and was leading on three other seats. The RJD was leading on two seats, while Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj seemed poised to open its account, leading on one seat. BJP rebel and independent candidate Rahul Raj wins the Saran Teachers' constituency. In Patna Graduates' constituency, RJD's Dilip Patel leads JDU's Neeraj Kumar and Jan Suraaj's Anuj Singh.

Counting for the five Maharashtra MLC seats was also underway, with the Mahayuti alliance leading in three seats and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in two. A total of 182 candidates were in the fray for elections to three Graduates' and two Teachers' constituencies.

In the Pune Graduates' constituency, BJP candidate Smita Jadhav was trailing against NCP(SP) candidate Harshada Jadhav. In the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Graduates' constituency, Pratapsinh Patil was leading over NCP MLC Satish Chavan.

In Nagpur Graduates' constituency, BJP's Sudhakar Kohale was leading over Congress MLC Abhijit Wanjari. In the Pune Teachers' constituency, BJP's Kaustubh Gawde had taken a lead over Congress MLC Jayant Asgaonkar.