The polling for the MLC elections is underway in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra and Karnataka. It will continue till 5 pm and the counting of votes will take place on October 27.

In what could be considered as yet another showdown between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition, the polling for the legislative council elections in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Bihar and Maharashtra began on Friday.

Of all the four states, the MLC elections in Uttar Pradesh are the most crucial, as assembly elections are slated for early next year. Here, polling is being held on 11 seats, and it is considered a direct electoral contest between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party (SP).

Out of the 11 seats, five are graduates' constituencies in Lucknow, Agra, Meerut, Varanasi and Allahabad-Jhansi, while six are teachers' constituencies in Lucknow, Agra, Meerut, Varanasi, Gorakhpur-Faizabad, and Bareilly-Moradabad.

The polling will allow the BJP to step up its organisational outreach in Uttar Pradesh, as it eyes to win a third consecutive assembly election next year. The party also has six out of the 11 outgoing members, and therefore, it would look to strengthen its base through these elections. 

Meanwhile, the SP would eye to consolidate itself after its impressive performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, where it won 37 out of the 80 seats. Of the 11 outgoing members, three are from Akhilesh's party.

Can BJP-led NDA continue its march in Bihar?
The MLC elections in Bihar will be another test for the BJP-led NDA. The alliance had swept the 2025 assembly elections, but suffered a defeat in the Bankipur byelection after Jan Suraaj chief Prashant Kishor won the seat, which was considered a bastion of BJP national president Nitin Nabin.

However, the ruling bloc would look to regroup and hope for an impressive performance in these polls. Here, polling is being held in four graduates and four teachers constituency seats. But of all of them, the contest in the Patna Graduates constituency has drawn attention after JD(U)'s Mokama MLA Anant Kumar Singh backed Jan Suraaj Party Anuj Singh against his own party's nominee, Neeraj Kumar.

Despite the party's efforts to pacify him, Anant Singh has extended support to Anuj Singh, alleging that Neeraj Kumar had worked against him during last year's assembly elections.

Will Mahayuti sweep MLC polls in Maharashtra?
Maharashtra remains another key state where MLC elections are being held for five seats: Pune Graduates, Nagpur Graduates, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Graduates, Pune Teachers and Amravati Teachers constituencies. 

The Mahayuti, which comprises the BJP, Shiv Sena and the NCP, is confident of winning all seats, while the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) is looking to make a comeback after its miserably performance in the 2024 assembly elections.

BJP-JD(S) vs Congress in Karnataka
Karnataka remains the only opposition-ruled state in these MLC elections. Here, it is a direct contest between the Congress and the BJP-JD(S) alliance. This election will test the BJP-JD(S) alliance's coordination and the Congress' support base after DK Shivakumar replaced Siddaramaiah as the chief minister.

Polling in Karnataka is being held on four seats: South-East Graduates', West Graduates', North-East Teachers' and Bengaluru Teachers'.

The polling began at 8 am in all four seats and will conclude at 4 pm. The counting of votes will take place on October 27.