Lucknow: The Congress on Thursday termed the INDIA bloc's performance in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council elections a victory for the opposition alliance and a “semifinal” ahead of the 2027 Assembly polls, with party leaders highlighting the Samajwadi Party’s victories in Varanasi and Lucknow.
The Congress, an ally of the Samajwadi Party (SP) in the INDIA bloc, did not field candidates in any of the 11 seats that went to the polls held on October 23.
Party officials said the decision was pre-planned and taken based on mutual understanding with the SP to consolidate anti-BJP votes and facilitate the victory of the INDIA bloc candidates.
Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee president Aradhana Mishra 'Mona' said the results reflected growing public enthusiasm for the INDIA bloc ahead of the 2027 state elections.
She said the support received by the alliance from educated voters in the Legislative Council polls indicated that people would back it in the upcoming Assembly elections due early next year.
Mishra also claimed that public confidence in the Yogi Adityanath government had eroded, saying that the BJP would face defeat in Uttar Pradesh in 2027.
Former state Congress president Ajay Rai congratulated the INDIA bloc on its victories in Varanasi, which is Prime Minister Narendra Modi's parliamentary constituency since 2014.
In a post on X, Rai said “the alliance's candidates had won both the graduate and teachers' MLC seats in Varanasi”, describing the victories as “a reflection of public confidence, democratic values and people-oriented politics”.
He congratulated Ashutosh Sinha, who won the graduates’ seat, and Lal Bihari Yadav, who won the teachers' seat, and attributed their victories to the unity of the INDIA bloc and the efforts of the party workers.
Speaking to PTI Videos, Congress spokesperson Surendra Rajput claimed that the BJP had already lost the 2027 Assembly elections.
“The backward classes, Dalits, Adivasis, women, youth, farmers, minorities and disadvantaged sections are supporting the INDIA bloc. The MLC results reflected the anger of graduates and teachers against the state government,” Rajput said.
He also accused the BJP of deploying government machinery and misusing its power during the elections.
“Despite this, it managed to win only six seats. The SP would have won all 11 seats had the elections been conducted fairly,” Rajput said, congratulating SP president Akhilesh Yadav.
Congress MP from Saharanpur, Imran Masood, said the significance of the results went beyond the number of seats won.
“The issue is not about the advantage of two seats. The point is that PM Modi lost in Varanasi, Nitin Nabin lost in Patna, and Mohan Bhagwat lost in Nagpur. The anger of the people across the country is clear,” Masood said.
Backing Akhilesh Yadav's allegation of attempts to manipulate the counting process, Masood pointed out that the SP candidates managed to win despite such tactics.
“They (BJP) employ all sorts of tactics, manipulate 20-30 per cent of votes, but this time more people voted, and the SP won,” he said.
Of the 11 MLC seats that went to polls in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP won six and the SP five. The SP’s victories in Varanasi and Lucknow were highlighted by Congress leaders as significant for the opposition alliance ahead of next year’s Uttar Pradesh polls.
