Vote Counting Begins for Legislative Council Seats Across Four States

Vote counting commenced on Tuesday for 28 Legislative Council seats spanning Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, and Karnataka. The biennial elections cover various graduate and teachers constituencies, with results expected to offer important clues regarding state assembly dynamics and political alliances.

In Bihar, where the terms of eight sitting MLCs are set to end on November 16, counting is underway for four graduate and four teachers seats. A total of 150 candidates are in the fray, featuring contests between the ruling National Democratic Alliance and the opposition alliance, alongside candidates from the Jan Suraaj Party. Tensions arose at the Bankipur counting center in Patna when a government employee was observed carrying a bundle of files into the counting hall, prompting an intervention by police after candidate supporters and reporters raised concerns.

The Rashtriya Janata Dal has previously expressed concerns regarding counting transparency and submitted a memorandum to the Chief Electoral Officer's office. Meanwhile, Congress candidate Sanjay Yadav alleged electoral malpractices at the Bankipur school center, telling the Press Trust of India that "Electoral malpractices have been reported. CCTV cameras have been installed outside the counting hall, but no device was placed inside the hall. It is an attempt to orchestrate malpractices."

Uttar Pradesh authorities have initiated counting for 11 seats, comprising five graduates and six teachers constituencies across districts such as Lucknow, Varanasi, Agra, Meerut, and Allahabad-Jhansi. Officials have established strict four-tier security arrangements at counting centers alongside drone teams and mobile squads, while Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa directed returning officers to ensure uninterrupted power supply and continuous video surveillance.

In Maharashtra, 182 candidates are contesting five seats across three graduates and two teachers constituencies. The multi-cornered contests test the ruling Mahayuti alliance's ability to manage internal dissent and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi's efforts to exploit differences, following an overall voter turnout of 72.96% during the October 23 polling.

Karnataka has also initiated vote counting for four Legislative Council seats involving two graduates and two teachers constituencies, featuring a total of 43 candidates in a contest primarily between the Congress party and the BJP-Janata Dal (Secular) alliance. Officials across all participating states noted that the preferential voting system utilizing single transferable votes can make the counting process particularly detailed and time-consuming.