New Delhi:- The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has suffered a major setback in the Legislative Council elections in Varanasi, the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Samajwadi Party (SP) has retained both Legislative Council seats in the Varanasi Division. Samajwadi Party's Lal Bihari Yadav won from the Teachers' Constituency, while the party's sitting MLC, Ashutosh Sinha, defeated BJP candidate Kedarnath Singh in the Varanasi Graduates' Constituency.
Accepting his defeat in the Graduates' Constituency, BJP candidate Kedarnath Singh shared a message on Facebook, saying that he humbly accepted the people's verdict. The message was posted while the counting of votes was still underway.
Varanasi is not only Prime Minister Modi's parliamentary constituency but also one of the BJP's key political and ideological centres. Therefore, losing both Legislative Council seats here is being considered politically significant for the party. The BJP had put considerable effort into campaigning in both constituencies, with senior party leaders also taking part. Despite this, the loss of both seats could raise questions about the party's local organisation and its strategy for connecting with voters.
