Samajwadi Party-backed candidate Lal Bihari Yadav has defeated BJP candidate Pramod Mishra in the Varanasi division teachers’ constituency of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council. The victory is significant because Varanasi is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s parliamentary constituency. The result has given the Samajwadi Party a major political boost and brought the spotlight back on teachers’ issues in Uttar Pradesh. After his win, Lal Bihari Yadav said the result reflected teachers’ anger over policies affecting their interests and their confidence in the Samajwadi Party.
Who Is Lal Bihari Yadav?
Lal Bihari Yadav has been active in teachers’ politics for many years. He has previously been elected as a member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council from the Varanasi teachers’ constituency. Over the years, he has raised issues related to teachers’ salaries, pensions and service conditions. He has also served as the Leader of the Opposition in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council, making him a prominent voice in the state’s teachers’ movement and legislative politics.
Credits Akhilesh Yadav for Victory
After winning the election, Lal Bihari Yadav thanked Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav and credited his policies for the result. He said the party had consistently raised teachers’ concerns, including the restoration of the old pension scheme, honorariums for teachers working in non-government-funded schools and better service conditions for teachers in government and aided institutions. He also highlighted the issues faced by teachers in minority institutions and madrasas, saying these concerns had received attention from the Samajwadi Party.
Calls It Teachers’ Anger Against BJP
Yadav described the result as a sign of teachers’ dissatisfaction with the BJP government’s policies. He claimed that teachers had placed their trust in the Samajwadi Party because it had taken their problems seriously and promised to address them. He also referred to the support the teaching community had extended to former chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav and said teachers continued to trust Akhilesh Yadav. According to him, this support played an important role in the election.
Victory Margin Increases Sharply
Lal Bihari Yadav said his victory margin had increased considerably compared with the previous election. He put the earlier margin at around 950 votes and claimed that this time it exceeded 5,000 votes. He said the result showed strong support among educated voters, including graduates, postgraduates and PhD holders. He described the wider margin as an important political message from the teaching community in Uttar Pradesh.
Targets BJP’s Education Policies
After the victory, Yadav criticised the BJP government’s education policies and accused it of neglecting teachers’ concerns. He alleged that honorariums for teachers working in non-government-funded institutions had been stopped after the BJP came to power. He also claimed that payments to modern teachers in madrasas had been discontinued. Raising the old pension scheme issue, he said teachers and other employees had been waiting for their long-standing demands to be addressed. His victory has once again brought these issues into the political debate.
