BJP, SP to select candidates for posts of MLC graduates, teachers; caste equation in focus

Elections for all 11 mandates will be held on October 23. | Photo credit: AFP

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday announced six candidates for the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council elections in the teacher and graduate constituencies, among them three Brahmins.

BJP fielded Kedar Nath Singh from Varanasi Graduates’ constituency and Dr. Pramoda Mishra from Varanasi Teachers Constituency. Hari Kishore Tiwari was fielded from Agra and Dhruv Tripathi from Gorakhpur-Faizabad. The party has nominated Ashok Kumar Rathore from Prayagraj-Jhansi and Dinesh Goel, who belongs to the Vaishya community, from Meerut.

SP PDA formula

The Samajwadi Party (SP), which had already on Monday announced candidates for all the 11 seats to be held on October 23, has largely followed the Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak (PDA) formula for selection.

The SP has fielded Yadav candidates from Varanasi, Jhansi, Gorakhpur and Agra, besides Denmark’s Akhtar from Moradabad and Parminder Bhati from Meerut.

The selection of candidates is seen in the context of the caste combinations that the two parties are trying to build ahead of the Assembly elections.

Concerns of voters

The electorate in the Legislative Council poll is limited to graduates and members of the teaching community. The election comes amid discontent among teachers and students over recruitment, school mergers, pay and job security.

Teachers’ districts have historically been dominated by independent professional bodies and non-political teachers’ unions. However, over the past few decades, the major political parties have increasingly supported particular union factions or fielded their own candidates to strengthen their presence in the upper house.

Published – 29 Sep 2026 23:22 IST