The Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party has made gains in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council elections, giving the party a morale boost ahead of the 2027 assembly polls. The Legislative Council polls, based on a limited electorate, may not reflect how people will vote in the upcoming assembly elections. However, they give the party a chance to build confidence and claim that the contest is becoming more competitive.
The SP won the Lucknow Graduates’ seat, defeating a sitting BJP MLC in the state capital. It also won the Agra Teachers’ seat, retained Varanasi Teachers’ and was leading in Varanasi Graduates’ when counting was still underway. Varanasi is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s parliamentary constituency. The results give the SP an opportunity to challenge the BJP in areas where the ruling party has enjoyed strong support.
For the SP, the biggest gain is a boost in confidence. Since its strong performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the party has been trying to show that it can challenge the BJP in Uttar Pradesh. The latest results give it another reason to believe that it can improve its position before 2027.
Elections are not decided by numbers alone; public perception also matters. Hence, these results may serve as a wake-up call for the BJP cadre. Home Minister Amit Shah is expected to address a party meeting in Lucknow on Friday to rev up the party machinery and leadership ahead of the polls.
For the BJP, its record on law and order, apart from infrastructure development, remains a strong point. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath remains the BJP’s best bet in the state.
Meanwhile, Akhilesh Yadav has been focusing on the state rather than developments at the national level. While the INDIA bloc has been campaigning against the Election Commission of India over alleged vote theft, he has kept his focus on Uttar Pradesh. Though he has appeared at the opposition’s joint march, he has not lost sight of the state, where his party has been out of power for nearly 10 years.
The next challenge for the SP will be seat-sharing with the Congress, which is becoming more ambitious and is reportedly seeking nearly 200 seats, according to various reports emerging from Uttar Pradesh, though no exact figure has emerged. The Congress is expected to demand a larger share than its actual presence on the ground would suggest.
However, the BJP’s past experience suggests that a setback before a major election can help it recalibrate its strategy and remind its cadre not to let their guard down. The party has been in power in Uttar Pradesh since 2017 and has a strong organisation across the state.
