Mumbai, Oct 27 (IANS) Vote counting began at 8:00 a.m. for five Maharashtra Legislative Council constituencies, comprising three Graduate and two Teachers seats. The outcome will decide the political fate of 182 candidates following the voting held on October 23.
The elections have evolved into a major political showdown between the ruling Mahayuti alliance (BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP) and the opposition Mahavikas Aghadi (MVA) (Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) and Congress). Internal rebellion, friendly contests between allies, and strong Independent candidates have further intensified the stakes across all five constituencies.
In Pune Graduate Constituency, a high-profile contest is between Dr Smita Jadhav (BJP) and Harshada Deshmukh-Jadhav (NCP – Sharadchandra Pawar). Voter turnout reached 62.78 per cent out of 3.88 lakh registered voters.
In Nagpur Graduate Constituency, which is historically a BJP bastion, featuring a key fight between incumbent MLC Abhijit Wanjari (MVA/Congress) and Sudhakar Kohale (Mahayuti/BJP). Turned out 64.76 per cent of voters across 38 candidates.
The Pune Teachers Constituency recorded an 85.87 per cent turnout among 61,940 registered teacher voters. The primary contest involves incumbent MLA Jayant Asgaonkar (Congress), Kaustubh Gawade (BJP), and Independent Sachin Sanap.
The Amravati Teachers Constituency recorded a turnout of 91.08 per cent among around 33,000 registered teacher voters. There are about 26 candidates in the fray, including Shiv Sena nominee Kiran Sarnaik, Congress candidate Aditi Pohre, Shiv Sena(UBT) Dattatray Lahane and Samajwadi Ganrajya Party Suresh Devkar. In addition, former legislator Shrikant Despande, Sangita Shinde, who is the sister of BJP MP Anil Bonde, Chandrashekhar Bhoyar and Sumit Pawar are also fighting.
The Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Marathwada) Graduate Constituency saw a 58.67 per cent voting percentage. Three-time sitting MLC Satish Chavan has been fielded again by the Mahayuti alliance under the NCP banner. On the MVA side, the Sharad Pawar-led NCP fielded Dr Pratap Singh Patil, while the Shiv Sena(UBT) fielded Dilip Ghorge, resulting in two MVA candidates competing in the same constituency.
Beyond the five individual seats, this election serves as a crucial barometer for party organisation and alliance unity. For the Mahayuti, the poll outcome will show whether seat allocation friction and cross-candidate rebellion weaken coalition vote transferability. In the case of Maha Vikas Aghadi, it will decide the opposition’s capacity to capitalise on ruling alliance rivalries and ground-level discontent.
–IANS
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