Voting began at 8 am on Friday, October 23, for biennial elections to 28 Legislative Council seats across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra and Karnataka, news agency ANI reported. The seats fall in Graduates' and Teachers' constituencies, and polling is being held with ballot papers.
Source: ANI via LatestLY
Uttar Pradesh accounts for the largest share with 11 seats — five Graduates' constituencies (Agra, Meerut, Allahabad-Jhansi, Lucknow and Varanasi) and six Teachers' constituencies. Bihar is voting on eight seats, Maharashtra on five and Karnataka on four, according to IANS. In Uttar Pradesh, polling is being conducted across 72 districts, excluding Kanpur Nagar, Kanpur Dehat and Unnao, IANS reported.
Source: IANS via Hi India
28 seats across 4 states • UP 11, Bihar 8, Maharashtra 5, Karnataka 4 • Polling 8 am–4 pm on ballot papers • Counting on October 27 • Election process to be completed by October 31 (ANI, citing the Election Commission of India).
The Election Commission of India announced the elections as the terms of sitting members in these constituencies end: Bihar's eight members retire on November 16, Karnataka's four on November 11, and the Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh members on December 6, ANI said.
The Uttar Pradesh contest is being watched as a political test ahead of the state's 2027 Assembly elections, while in Bihar the polls are among the first major electoral challenges for the ruling government, IANS said. Samajwadi Party MP Ram Gopal Yadav expressed confidence in his party's prospects, saying both SP candidates in Aligarh would win — a claim the results on October 27 will test.