Congress takes a big decision in UP, stays away from elections
Lucknow. Congress has taken a big political decision before the 2027 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. The party has distanced itself from the elections for 11 seats of the state Legislative Council. Congress, which was engaged in election preparations for almost a year, has now decided not to field candidates on these seats. The party says that its entire focus is on the upcoming assembly elections. This decision of Congress has shocked those leaders and workers who were preparing for the Legislative Council elections for a long time. At the same time, now the contest between Bharatiya Janata Party and Samajwadi Party is mainly visible on these seats.
Congress changed its decision after one year of preparation
Uttar Pradesh Congress was preparing for the elections of 11 Legislative Council seats for the last one year. For this, many steps were taken by the party at the organizational level. Election activities were also started with the identification of potential candidates in various areas.
The party had appointed observers and coordinators for election preparations. Not only this, a control room was also arranged to keep an eye on election related work.
Many potential candidates had been campaigning in their respective areas for about nine months. He had started activities to increase contact between teachers and graduate voters. However, now the Congress leadership has decided not to field its candidates in these elections.
Full focus will be on assembly elections 2027
Congress says that the upcoming assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh are the priority of the party. In such a situation, the entire strength of the organization will be used in the preparations for the assembly elections.
The party leadership believes that it is necessary to strengthen the organization up to the booth level before the assembly elections. For this purpose, it has been decided not to field candidates in the Legislative Council elections.
Congress faces the challenge of strengthening its political position in the state. The party wants to enter the assembly elections with better organizational preparations.
The decision to stay away from the Legislative Council elections is being linked to this strategy. However, after this decision, the status of the leaders preparing for elections within the party also remains a matter of discussion.
State President Aradhana Mishra told the reason for the decision
Uttar Pradesh Congress State President Aradhana Mishra Mona has clarified the situation regarding the decision of not contesting the Legislative Council elections. He told that this decision had been taken even before he assumed the post of state president.
According to party leaders, initial preparations for the Legislative Council elections were started without adequate coordination from the central leadership. There is limited time left in the elections. In such a situation, Congress has decided not to field candidates considering its priorities.
The aspect of maintaining political coordination with Samajwadi Party has also come to light behind this decision. Congress and Samajwadi Party are allies in the opposition alliance. In such a situation, avoiding fielding different candidates in the Legislative Council elections is also being said to be a reason for this decision.
Voting will be held on 11 seats on October 23.
Voting for 11 seats of Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council is to be held on 23 October 2026. These include five graduate constituencies and six teacher constituencies.
Graduate constituencies include Lucknow, Varanasi, Agra, Meerut and Allahabad-Jhansi. The teacher constituencies include the seats of Lucknow, Varanasi, Agra, Meerut, Bareilly-Moradabad and Gorakhpur-Faizabad.
As per the schedule of the Election Commission, notification for these seats was issued on September 29. The last date for nomination was 6 October, while scrutiny of nomination papers took place on 7 October.
The last date for withdrawal of candidature is 9 October. Voting will take place on October 23 from 8 am to 4 pm. Counting of votes is scheduled for October 27.
Competition between BJP and SP
After Congress withdrew from the elections, now the candidates of BJP and Samajwadi Party are in front as the main contenders for these Legislative Council seats.
BJP has declared its candidates for all 11 seats. The party has fielded many sitting Legislative Council members for re-election.
On the other hand, Samajwadi Party has also intensified election preparations. SP President Akhilesh Yadav has made changes in the candidates on some seats and given opportunity to leaders from other political parties.
Samajwadi Party has nominated Sanjayan Tripathi from Gorakhpur-Faizabad teachers constituency and Akash Aggarwal from Agra seat.
Other candidates are also in the fray for these seats. In such a situation, despite the withdrawal of Congress, the competition is not limited to only two parties.
Leaders associated with Congress can contest elections as independents
After the decision of Congress, a new situation has arisen in front of those leaders who were preparing for the elections with the support of the party.
According to the information, some potential candidates associated with Congress are now contesting the elections as independent candidates. For these leaders who have been engaged in election preparations for a long time, the party’s decision not to contest the elections at the last moment is an important change.
However, the status of such candidates is not clear in all areas. The picture of the final candidates will be revealed only after the nomination and withdrawal process is completed.
Eye on alliance with SP also
Political cooperation between Congress and Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh