# Circular Seating Reasoning Puzzle for IBPS PO — 18 Sep 2026

> 5-person circular seating arrangement (2026-09-18) — Manish, Neha, Uma, Deepak, Esha. 3 logic clues, one provable answer. Free IBPS PO & SSC practice.

Source: https://deducepuzzles.com/blog/2026-09-18-circular-seating-puzzle

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Published: 2026-09-18 · Difficulty: medium · 3 clues · 5 people
Exams: IBPS PO · SBI Clerk · SSC CHSL

## The puzzle

Manish, Neha, Uma, Deepak, Esha — sit around a round table, all facing the centre — work out the seating order clockwise. Using the clues below, work out the arrangement.

1. Uma sits 2nd to the right of Esha (all facing the centre).
2. Deepak sits immediately to the left of Manish (all facing the centre).
3. Neha sits next to Uma.

## Answer

Deepak, Uma, Neha, Esha, Manish (clockwise around the table).

Pos 1: Deepak · Pos 2: Uma · Pos 3: Neha · Pos 4: Esha · Pos 5: Manish

## Step-by-step solution

1. Start: 24 distinct seatings (up to rotation) of 5 people around the table. Fix Deepak at seat 1 and count clockwise — only rotations of the same seating differ.
2. Clue 1 — "Uma sits 2nd to the right of Esha (all facing the centre)." narrows it to 6 possibilities. Table (clockwise from Deepak): Deepak · _ · _ · _ · _
3. Clue 2 — "Deepak sits immediately to the left of Manish (all facing the centre)." ⇒ Manish → seat 5, Neha → seat 3, Uma → seat 2, Esha → seat 4 (1 possibility left). Table (clockwise from Deepak): Deepak · Uma · Neha · Esha · Manish
4. Exactly one seating (up to rotation) survives every clue: Deepak, Uma, Neha, Esha, Manish clockwise.

## How to crack circular seating puzzles faster

- Circular seating has **no fixed start** — anchor any person first, then place others relative to them.
- "Immediately to the left" in a circle means **clockwise-adjacent** (when facing the centre).
- "Opposite" in an even-N circle means **exactly halfway** around the table.
- Draw a rough circle and mark positions as you deduce — visual elimination is faster than mental tracking.

## FAQ

### What is the seating order in this circular arrangement?

The order clockwise is: Deepak, Uma, Neha, Esha, Manish. In circular seating, all relative positions are preserved regardless of where you start — the relationship between neighbours is what matters.

### How do you solve circular seating arrangement puzzles?

Start by fixing one person, then place others using relative clues (immediately left, opposite, between). In a circle, 'left' means clockwise-adjacent when facing the centre. Work outward from the anchored person.

## Learn the method

This post is one worked example. The topic page for circular seating arrangement carries the full method,
the clue-wording table and the mistakes that cost marks: https://deducepuzzles.com/reasoning/circular-seating-arrangement

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