LUCKNOW: A total of 152 candidates will contest the biennial elections to 11 Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council seats, comprising five Graduates’ and six Teachers’ constituencies, after seven candidates withdrew their nominations by Friday’s deadline.According to the office of Chief Electoral Officer, Uttar Pradesh, on Friday, three candidates withdrew from Graduates’ constituencies and four from Teachers’ constituencies.The elections will be held on Oct 23, from 8am to 4pm, across 2,697 polling stations. A total of 14,81,310 electors are eligible to vote.Among Graduates’ constituencies, Varanasi has the highest number of candidates at 24, followed by Lucknow with 16, Agra and Allahabad-Jhansi with 13 each, and Meerut with eight.In Teachers’ constituencies, Bareilly-Moradabad has 17 candidates, Gorakhpur-Faizabad 16, Lucknow 13, Agra 12, and Varanasi and Meerut 10 each.Lucknow Graduates’ constituency has the largest electorate at 3,13,531, followed by Varanasi with 2,88,622 and Allahabad-Jhansi with 2,64,233 voters.Officials said voters must produce their electoral photo identity cards or approved alternative documents, including Aadhaar, PAN card, driving licence or passport.Unlike assembly elections, Legislative Council elections follow the proportional representation system through the single transferable vote. Voters must indicate preferences numerically, with the figure ‘1’ mandatory for their first choice.Election officials will provide violet sketch pens for marking ballots. The NOTA option will not be available.The elections will fill vacancies arising when the terms of sitting members expire on Dec 6, 2026.
