Counting for Legislative Council seats across four states is still going on. The BJP has won both Meerut seats, the SP has won in Varanasi, and Bihar has declared three of its eight seats so far.
Updated: October 28, 2026, 11:00 AM IST
Quick Read:
- Counting began at 8 am on October 27 for 28 Council seats in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra and Karnataka. Polling was held on October 23.
- In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP won both Meerut seats, while the SP won a Varanasi seat. Several other seats are still counting.
- In Bihar, three of eight seats are declared: one each for the BJP, an Independent, and Jan Suraaj. Patna’s two seats are still undecided.
The picture so far
This is a counting-in-progress report, not a final result. Counting for 28 Legislative Council seats began at 8 am on October 27 across four states: 11 in Uttar Pradesh, 8 in Bihar, and the rest in Maharashtra and Karnataka. The seats are graduates’ and teachers’ constituencies, elected by voters who are graduates or teachers. Because these seats use the single transferable vote system — voters rank candidates, and votes transfer round by round — counting takes longer than a simple count. Some seats finish early. Others run through many rounds, sometimes past midnight. The results below are the ones confirmed by at least one major report by the morning of October 28. Seats still counting are marked as such. Do not treat a lead as a win.
Also read: Counting begins for 19 Council seats
Uttar Pradesh: BJP takes Meerut, SP takes Varanasi
The clearest Uttar Pradesh results are from Meerut. The BJP won both Meerut seats: Dinesh Kumar Goyal won the Meerut Graduates’ seat, and Shri Chand Sharma won the Meerut Teachers’ seat, PTI reported via ABP Live, with certificates handed over. In Varanasi, the Samajwadi Party won a seat, News24 reported on the morning of October 28. Trends also showed SP candidates leading in Varanasi’s graduates’ and teachers’ constituencies in early rounds — Ashutosh Sinha in the graduates’ seat and Lal Bihari Yadav in the teachers’ seat. The Week reported Lal Bihari ahead in the teachers’ seat, while the graduates’ seat count was expected to begin on Wednesday. Readers should note: the exact Varanasi seat declared first varies by report, and the full Varanasi picture is still settling. In Lucknow, the BJP’s Umesh Dwivedi led the SP’s Sushil Kumar 7,189 to 3,537 after the first round in the teachers’ constituency — a lead, not a declaration. In Gorakhpur, the BJP led the SP 3,703 to 2,744 in trends reported by The Times of India.
The controversy in Uttar Pradesh
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav alleged delays and a lack of transparency in the Uttar Pradesh count. He said BJP workers were allowed inside counting booths, and urged the Chief Election Commissioner to step in. He also shared a video alleging disturbance at a counting centre in Lucknow, and said counting was stopped in Agra while the SP led there. These are allegations, not findings. The Election Commission had not, in the reports checked for this post, issued a ruling on them by the morning of October 28. This post reports the allegation because a major party leader made it publicly — not because it has been proven.
Bihar: three declared, Patna still open
In Bihar, three of eight seats are declared, ABP Live reported: one each for the BJP, an Independent candidate, and Jan Suraaj. The declared seats: Tirhut Teachers’ went to BJP-supported Narendra Prasad Singh, who beat the CPI’s Sanjay Kumar Singh by more than 600 votes, according to Daily Jagran and ABP Live. Saran Teachers’ went to Independent candidate Rahul Raj, a BJP rebel, who beat the JD(U)’s Anand Pushkar. The third declared seat is reported as a Jan Suraaj win in Darbhanga Teachers’, but with a warning: Daily Jagran said Jan Suraaj’s Suresh Rai “reportedly registered a victory” over Congress incumbent Madan Mohan Jha, with official confirmation still awaited. News24’s morning update still called it a lead — 2,574 to 2,187 after three rounds. This post therefore treats Darbhanga Teachers’ as a likely Jan Suraaj win, not a certified one. Patna’s two seats are still open, and the trends conflict. The Times of India live blog at 8:46 pm on October 27 had the RJD ahead on both Patna seats — JD(U)’s Neeraj Kumar behind by 18 votes in the graduates’ seat, and the BJP’s Nawal Yadav trailing by 300 in the teachers’ seat. An earlier update had Neeraj Kumar ahead by about 900. A clash was also reported inside the Patna counting hall between BJP and RJD supporters over a ballot paper; both groups were removed by the administration.
Karnataka and Maharashtra in brief
In Karnataka, NDA candidate A.P. Ranganath won the Bengaluru Teachers’ seat, beating five-time MLC Puttanna by 908 votes (10,810 to 9,902), the returning officer confirmed. The BJP’s S.V. Sankanur led in the West Graduates’ seat, 12,613 to 9,057 after round two. In Maharashtra, the Mahayuti alliance led three seats and the MVA led two, ABP Live reported, with no confirmed names in the reports checked for this post. Full Maharashtra and Karnataka results will follow as counting completes.
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FAQ
Q: How many Council seats were counted on October 27-28?
A: Twenty-eight seats across four states: 11 in Uttar Pradesh, 8 in Bihar, and the rest in Maharashtra and Karnataka. Polling was held on October 23, and counting began at 8 am on October 27.
Q: Which Uttar Pradesh results are confirmed?
A: The BJP won both Meerut seats (Dinesh Kumar Goyal, graduates; Shri Chand Sharma, teachers). The SP won a Varanasi seat. Other seats, including Lucknow and Gorakhpur, were still at the trend stage on the morning of October 28.
Q: Why is counting taking so long?
A: These seats use single transferable vote. Voters rank candidates, and votes transfer round by round till seats fill. That takes longer than a simple most-votes-wins count.
Sources: PTI via ABP Live (Meerut results, October 28); News24 live (Varanasi, Darbhanga trends, October 28); The Times of India live blog (Patna, Gorakhpur trends, October 27); The Week (Meerut, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, October 27); ABP Live summary (Bihar 3 declared, Maharashtra trends, October 28).
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