Fearing ‘loss’ of LoP post in UP Council, SP names candidates a year before polls
With 11 graduate and teacher seats due to fall vacant in November 2026, the SP gears up for MLC polls in a bid to retain LoP position, even as ally Congress also plans to contest it
The Akhilesh yadav-led Samajwadi party needs to win at least three of the 11 seats to have the numbers to stake claim for the LoP's post. 
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Aware that a poor performance in the elections to 11 Legislative Council seats in Uttar Pradesh, due to fall vacant in November 2026, could jeopardise its claim to the Leader of the Opposition (LoP)’s post, the Samajwadi Party (SP) has set the ball rolling early by announcing its candidates over a year in advance.
“These elections are not contested on party symbols, but the elected candidates are ultimately included in the party’s tally. Since voter lists for graduate and teacher constituencies are freshly prepared before each election, it was necessary to name candidates early so they can help with the compilation of electoral rolls. While the outcome may be a prestige issue for the ruling BJP, it won’t significantly impact them given their strength in the Council,” a senior SP leader said, admitting that winning fewer than three seats could endanger the party’s LoP position.
The MLC elections are to be held in the graduate constituencies of Lucknow, Varanasi, Agra, Meerut and Allahabad-Jhansi, along with teacher seats of Lucknow, Varanasi, Agra, Meerut, Bareilly-Moradabad and Gorakhpur-Faizabad.
Currently, the BJP-led NDA enjoys a clear majority in the 100-member UP Legislative Council with 83 members – the BJP (79 members), Apna Dal-S (1 member), Rashtriya Lok Dal (1), Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (1) and NISHAD Party (1).
The Akhilesh Yadav-led SP has 10 members, just enough to reach the 10% required to have the LoP’s post. The remaining members include five Independents and one member from the Jansatta Dal (Loktantrik), while one seat is vacant.
Of the SP’s 10 MLCs, seven were elected by the MLAs. The remaining three — two from graduate constituencies (Man Singh Yadav from Allahabad-Jhansi and Ashutosh Sinha from Varanasi) and one from the teachers’ constituency (Lal Bihari Yadav from Varanasi) — were elected in 2020 and will see polls next year. All three have been renominated for the polls.
In addition, the SP has fielded Kamlesh Yadav for the Gorakhpur-Faizabad teachers’ seat and former MLC Kanti Singh for the Lucknow graduates’ seat.
In the 2020 elections, the BJP had won six of these 11 seats, the SP got three, and Independents bagged the remaining two.
The coming MLC polls have again exposed fissures within the Opposition INDIA bloc, of which both the SP and the Congress are constituents. The grand old party has signalled its intention to contest the polls. Despite not having a single member in the Council currently, the Congress has appointed “coordinators” for five constituencies, whom it has also described as probable candidates.
“We are preparing to contest all 11 seats. Since these elections are not fought on party symbols, we have named coordinators for five seats and will announce more soon. The decision on which candidates to support is yet to be taken,” UP Congress president Ajay Rai told The Indian Express.
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