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BJP pulls out all stops, mobilises top leadership for MLC polls
In the biennial elections to five graduate and six teacher constituencies, 14,81,310 voters — 11,85,706 graduates and 2,95,604 teachers — are set to decide the fate of 152 candidates at 2,697 polling stations. Counting is scheduled for October 27, while the terms of the sitting members end on December 6.
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With the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections just months away, the BJP has pulled out all stops for the October 23 legislative council polls, deploying chief minister Yogi Adityanath, state president Pankaj Chaudhary and state general secretary (organisation) Dharampal Singh to oversee and micro-manage its campaign on the ground.
In the biennial elections to five graduate and six teacher constituencies, 14,81,310 voters — 11,85,706 graduates and 2,95,604 teachers — are set to decide the fate of 152 candidates at 2,697 polling stations. Counting is scheduled for October 27, while the terms of the sitting members end on December 6.
The polls are significant for the BJP as its a crucial electoral test in UP after the setback in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and an organisational test before the 2027 battle.
“With 2027 elections just five months away, the state leadership does not want to send a negative message by losing MLC polls,” a senior BJP leader said.
The BJP won six of the 11 seats in the previous elections and is now targeting eight, According to party insiders.
To achieve this, the party has drawn up a strategy focused on individual assembly segments. Adityanath has already toured Gorakhpur, Bareilly, Varanasi and Prayagraj. His visit to Agra on Friday was postponed due to rainfall.He addressed a public meeting in Ghaziabad on Friday.
Pankaj Chaudhary is holding meetings across assembly segments falling under the graduate and teacher constituencies, reaching out to teachers’ associations, graduate voters, lawyers, professors and private-sector professionals. Dharampal Singh is holding similar meetings.
BJP national general secretary and UP in-charge Vinod Tawde was in Lucknow on Friday to review preparations, while the state president and state general secretary (organisation) were out campaigning, underlining the importance the party attaches to the elections.
Several senior ministers have also been assigned constituencies to hold meetings with party workers and voters. They have been asked to camp in their allotted districts, meet district and mandal-level office-bearers and ensure contact with every graduate and teacher voter. Unlike assembly elections, the electorate for these MLC polls is limited and identifiable.
Party strategists see graduate voters, including young professionals, as an important group to reach ahead of the 2027 assembly elections. Teachers, meanwhile, are influential in both rural and urban areas and can shape opinion beyond their constituencies.
BJP leaders privately acknowledge that a defeat could give the Samajwadi Party and Congress an opportunity to argue that the BJP was losing support among educated voters ahead of the assembly elections. The party is therefore leaving little to chance.
The five graduate constituencies account for 11.85 lakh voters, while the six teacher constituencies have 2.96 lakh voters. Graduate constituencies have a significantly larger electorate.
Among the graduate seats, Lucknow has the largest electorate, at 3,13,531, followed by Varanasi with 2,88,622 and Allahabad-Jhansi with 2,64,233. Meerut has the smallest graduate electorate, at 1,28,595.
Among the teacher constituencies, Bareilly-Moradabad has the highest number of candidates, at 17, followed by Gorakhpur-Faizabad with 16, Lucknow with 13, Agra with 12, and Varanasi and Meerut with 10 each.
The 11 constituencies have a combined total of 2,697 polling stations. Lucknow Graduate has the highest number, at 415, followed by Meerut Graduate with 382 and Allahabad-Jhansi with 354.
