Maharashtra MLC polls today: graduates, teachers vote for five Council seats; Mahayuti claims clean sweep
Registered graduates and teachers in Pune, Nagpur, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Amravati divisions vote today for five Legislative Council seats. Counting is on October 27.
Voting is under way on Friday for five seats in the Maharashtra Legislative Council, three from graduates’ constituencies and two from teachers’ constituencies. Polling runs from 8 am to 4 pm, and votes will be counted on October 27.
Only registered graduates and teachers living in the constituencies concerned are eligible to vote. The terms of the current members end on December 6, 2026.
The five seats
- Pune Division Graduates: 47 candidates, including BJP’s Dr Smita Yogesh Jadhav, NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar)’s Harshada Jadhav-Deshmukh and Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Sunil Modi. Outgoing member: Arun Lad.
- Nagpur Division Graduates: 38 candidates. BJP’s Sudhakar Vitthalrao Kohale takes on sitting Congress MLC Abhijit Vanjari.
- Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad) Division Graduates: 41 candidates, with NCP’s Satish Bhanudasrao Chavan, the sitting member, in the fray against Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) nominees.
- Amravati Division Teachers: 26 candidates. Sitting member Kiran Ramrao Sarnaik of the Shinde-led Shiv Sena faces Congress’s Aditi Pohare.
- Pune Division Teachers: 30 candidates, including Mahayuti’s official BJP nominee Kaustubh Murlidhar Gawade, Congress’s Jayant Dinkar Asgaonkar (the outgoing member), and independents Dattatray Sawant and Sachin Sanap.
A ‘friendly contest’ inside Mahayuti
The Pune Teachers’ seat has exposed a rift within the ruling alliance. Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena is backing independent Sachin Sanap against the BJP’s official candidate, a fight Shinde has called a “friendly contest”. He has nonetheless predicted that the Mahayuti, made up of the BJP, the Shiv Sena and the NCP led by Sunetra Pawar, will win all five seats.
Schedule at a glance
The election was notified on September 29. Nominations closed on October 6, were scrutinised on October 7, and withdrawals ended on October 9. The Model Code of Conduct is in force in the five constituencies, and the entire process is to be completed by October 31.
Sources
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