A confrontation broke out between BJP and Samajwadi Party supporters at the DAV Degree College polling station in GorakhpurOccurring in the presence of SP candidate DrSanjayan Tripathi, both political factions accused each other of attempting to unduly sway the voting process.
Published: October 23, 2026, 6:50 PM IST
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Voting was held across 11 Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council (MLC) seats, comprising five graduate and six teachers’ constituencies, spread over 72 districts of the stateAs per the official data, the turnout stood at 40.87 per cent till 2 pmThe Bareilly-Moradabad teachers’ constituency recorded the highest turnout at 59.17 per cent, followed by Varanasi at 57.97 per cent.
Whereas the Allahabad-Jhansi graduate constituency recorded the lowest turnout at 26.30 per centIn Lucknow, 259 polling booths have been set up for the elections, with more than 1.16 lakh registered voters eligible to exercise their franchiseMeanwhile, workers of the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) and Samajwadi Party (SP) clashed in Gorakhpur.
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UP MLC Election 2022: Schedule Announced For 36 Seats of UP Local Body PollsCheck Dates, Details
All about the MLC elections
As many as 14.18 lakh eligible electors cast their votes in the MLC election across various districts in Uttar Pradesh to determine the electoral fate of 152 candidates.
The key battleground seats included the Lucknow Graduate constituency, which was contested between BJP’s Avanish Kumar Singh and SP’s Kanti Singh; the Varanasi-Mirzapur Graduate seat contested by BJP’s Kedarnath Singh and SP’s Ashutosh Sinha; and the Gorakhpur-Faizabad seat.
BJP and Samajwadi Party workers clash in Gorakhpur
In Gorakhpur, BJP and Samajwadi Party workers engaged in a heated exchange at DAV Degree College, with both sides accusing each other of attempting to influence the polling processThe confrontation took place in front of SP candidate Dr Sanjayan Tripathi.
Uttar Pradesh Jal Shakti Minister Swatantra Dev Singh cast his vote at polling booth number 217 at Jalaun district council office in Orai for the Allahabad-Jhansi graduate constituencyAfter voting, he claimed the BJP would win all 11 seats, citing the work of Narendra Modi and Yogi Adityanath governments for teachers and other sections of society.
Akhilesh’s hoarding targeted in Lucknow
Midway through polling, political hoardings targeting SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and senior party leaders surfaced in Lucknow, Ballia, and SitapurThe display banners depicted Yadav alongside slain gangster Atiq Ahmed and jailed leader Azam Khan, with several posters also featuring personal attacks on his family members.
However, the SP workers tore down some of the hoardings, accusing the BJP of trying to influence voters and create tension on polling dayPolice said no one had claimed responsibility for putting up the hoardings in Ballia and an investigation was underway.
What did Akhilesh Yadav say?
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav mounted a sharp attack against the Election Commission and state authorities, accusing BJP workers and local administration officials of illegal booth-capturing, bogus voting, and intimidation.
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Highlighting incidents in Fatehpur and other regions, Yadav remarked on social media that the Election Commission appeared ‘dormant’ while BJP operatives engaged in electoral malpracticeHe warned that SP teams were recording video evidence across polling stations and would file formal FIRs against public officials or election personnel participating in irregularities.
Polling continued until 4 pmBallot papers, instead of electronic voting machines (EVMs), were being used in the electionsThe five graduate constituencies are Lucknow, Varanasi, Agra, Meerut and Allahabad-JhansiThe six teachers’ constituencies are Lucknow, Agra, Varanasi, Meerut, Bareilly-Moradabad and Gorakhpur-FaizabadThe constituencies span all 75 districts of the state, but only registered graduates and teachers are eligible to vote.
Samajwadi Party deployed a barrage of campaigning in the MLC elections as it is seen as a vital barometer of regional political sentiment ahead of the much-awaited Uttar Pradesh assembly elections 2027Both the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) coalition and the Samajwadi Party are eyeing the MLC elections to gain an upper hand in the UP assembly elections.
