Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Kedarnath Singh on Thursday conceded defeat in the Varanasi Graduate constituency election to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council, accepting the public mandate with humility as Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate Ashutosh Sinha maintained a substantial lead during vote counting.
According to the latest figures reported by Hindustan Times, Sinha secured 50,462 votes against Singh’s 33,674 after the counting of second-preference votes, giving the SP candidate a lead of 16,984 votes.
In a Facebook post, Singh thanked graduate voters for their support and said he accepted the electoral verdict despite failing to achieve the expected result.
“I accept the public mandate with complete humility and democratic decorum,” he said, adding that the trust and affection extended by voters would remain valuable to him.
Singh also thanked senior party leaders, alliance office-bearers, party workers and supporters for their efforts during the election campaign.
He said electoral success and failure were part of the democratic process and reiterated his commitment to public service, regardless of the outcome.
“I will continue to remain among you, just as I have always been, and will uphold my commitment to the interests, concerns, and aspirations of the graduate constituency,” he said.
The Varanasi Graduate constituency was among the seats contested in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council elections, in which the BJP and the SP competed for graduate and teachers’ constituencies across the state.
The counting process in Varanasi had witnessed disruptions after BJP leaders and workers protested, alleging irregularities and demanding action against the counting observer. The counting was subsequently resumed following intervention by election authorities.
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