Mumbai, Oct 23 (PTI) Voting began on Friday in five Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC) constituencies, covering teachers’ and graduates’ seats, in a contest that will test the strength of the ruling Mahayuti and the opposition MVA in the state legislature’s upper house.
A total of 182 candidates are in the fray, with both sides having been hit by rebellion.
Polling began at 8 am and will continue till 4 pm across 2,419 polling stations where 10,68,072 voters will exercise their franchise, said officials. While the counting of votes is scheduled for October 27, the election process will be completed by October 31, they said.
The biennial elections are being held for five seats — three Graduates’ and two Teachers’ constituencies — in the 78-member Legislative Council. These are Pune Division Graduates’, Nagpur Division Graduates’, Pune Division Teachers’, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad) Graduates’ and Amravati Teachers’ constituencies.
The polls have been necessitated because the term of the sitting members ends on December 6.
The Mahayuti, comprising the BJP, Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena and Sunetra Pawar-led NCP, and the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance of the Congress, Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) and Uddhav Thackeray-headed Shiv Sena (UBT) are contesting all five seats.
In the Amravati Teachers’ constituency, sitting MLC Kiran Sarnaik is contesting on a Shiv Sena ticket against Congress candidate Aditi Pohare. The Shiv Sena (UBT) has also fielded a candidate.
According to officials, in the Pune Graduates’ constituency, the BJP has fielded Smita Jadhav against NCP (SP) candidate Harshada Deshmukh, while Shiv Sena (UBT) has also fielded a candidate.
In the Pune Teachers’ constituency, the BJP has fielded Kaustubh Gawde against sitting MLC Jayant Asgaonkar of the Congress. The Shiv Sena is backing independent candidate Sachin Sanap, an officer on special duty (OSD) to state minister Uday Samant.
The Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Graduates’ constituency is witnessing a contest between sitting MLC Satish Chavan of the NCP and NCP (SP) candidate Pratapsinh Patil. Shiv Sena (UBT) has also fielded a candidate here.
In the Nagpur Graduates’ constituency, sitting MLC Abhijit Wanjari is pitted against BJP nominee Sudhakar Kohale. BJP rebel Anil Sole has withdrawn from the contest and extended support to Kohale, though his name will remain on the ballot, said officials.
The Pune Graduates’ constituency has the highest number of candidates at 47, followed by Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Graduates – 41, Nagpur Graduates – 38, Pune Teachers’ – 30, and Amravati Teachers – 26.
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Graduates’ constituency has the highest number of polling stations at 842, followed by Pune Graduates – 741, Nagpur Graduates – 445, Pune Teachers – 310 and Amravati Teachers – 81.
In the 78-member Legislative Council, the BJP is the largest party with 35 members, followed by the Shiv Sena with 12 and the NCP with 10. Among the opposition parties, the Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) have five MLCs each, while the NCP (SP) has two. The House also has four independent MLCs. PTI MR NR
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