BJP sweeps UP Legislative Council polls; SP draws a blank

A month after its resounding victory in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, the BJP has swept the biennial polls to the states legislative council by winning 33 out of 36 constituencies. According to the results declared on Tuesday, the BJP won 24 of the 27 the local authority seats, where polling was held last week. In addition, the BJP had won nine of the 36 seats unopposed. The results take the BJP past the halfway-mark in the 100-member House. Now, it will have 67 members in the upper house of the state legislature. But it suffered a setback in Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modis Lok Sabha constituency, where it stood distant third.

The Samajwadi Party, the main opposition in the state, drew a blank.

Two independents and a candidate from the Jansatta Dal (Loktantrik) emerged victorious in the elections.

In Varanasi, BJPs Sudama Patel stood third with just 170 votes as Independent candidate Annapurna Singh secured a resounding victory with 4,234 votes.

Samajwadi Partys Umesh Yadav got 345 votes, Varanasi District Magistrate Kaushal Raj Sharma said.

Before the polls, the BJP had 34 members in the House.

“In the last elections held in 2016, the BJP had not won any of the seats, which went to polls this time,” UP minister JPS Rathore told

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