New Delhi, Oct. 30 -- Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Kedarnath Singh has conceded defeat in the Varanasi Graduates' constituency election to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council, congratulating voters and accepting the outcome after a prolonged counting process. In a Facebook post on Thursday, Singh said he respected the public mandate, even though the result was not what he had hoped for.

The BJP candidate's concession came as Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate Ashutosh Sinha maintained a lead of around 17,000 votes during the counting of second-preference ballots. The counting process, which began on Tuesday, continued for nearly 24 hours, with the final outcome drawing considerable attention from both parties.

In his Facebook po...