The results, which were declared Thursday after a 55-hour counting process, mark a shift in the balance between the SP and BJP, with the former expanding its presence and the latter retaining its overall tally.

The SP retained both its Varanasi seats , wrested Lucknow Graduates seat from the BJP, and won Agra Teachers, previously held by an Independent. The BJP retained four of the six Teachers’ constituencies and both the Meerut and Agra Graduates’ seats.

In the 2020 elections, the BJP had won six seats, the SP three and Independents two.

SP’s Varanasi show

The SP’s performance in Varanasi was central to its showing, with the party retaining both the Graduates’ and Teachers’ constituencies.

In Varanasi Graduates’, sitting SP MLC Ashutosh Sinha defeated BJP candidate Kedarnath Singh in a contest marked by prolonged counting.…