The BJP has won six of the 11 seats in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council elections, while the Samajwadi Party is poised to win five, with three results announced and two more pending.
A senior district official said on Thursday that SP candidate Kanti Singh had won the Lucknow Graduates' constituency and had been issued the certificate of election. The BJP's Kedar Nath Singh, contesting the Varanasi Graduates' constituency, also conceded defeat.
According to results declared by Wednesday, the BJP won the Agra Graduates', Bareilly-Moradabad Teachers', Lucknow Teachers', Meerut Teachers' and Graduates', and Gorakhpur-Faizabad Teachers' constituencies.
The SP secured the Allahabad-Jhansi Graduates' constituency and the Varanasi and Agra-Aligarh Teachers' constituencies.
In Lucknow, Kanti Singh secured 51,168 votes against 36,313 polled by BJP nominee Avneesh Kumar Singh after more than eight rounds of counting.
In Varanasi, SP candidate Ashutosh Sinha received 50,462 votes against 33,478 secured by Kedar Nath Singh after the ninth round of counting of first-preference votes.
In a social media post, Kedar Nath Singh thanked voters, party leaders and workers for their support, saying he accepted the mandate with humility. He added that his commitment to public service would continue regardless of the election outcome.
Polling for the 11 seats was held on October 23, with counting beginning on Tuesday.
The elections were seen as a prestige battle between the BJP and the SP ahead of next year's Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls. Before the elections, the BJP held six seats, the SP three, while two were represented by Independents.
(With inputs from PTI)
