Maharashtra MLC Elections: 182 Candidates Contest Five Seats Amid Alliance Rebellions

Polling began at 8 am on Friday for five Maharashtra Legislative Council seats, with 182 candidates contesting three graduates’ and two teachers’ constituencies. Voting is scheduled to continue until 4 pm across 2,419 polling stations, where 10,68,072 voters are eligible to cast their ballots. Counting will take place on October 27, and the election process is scheduled to conclude by October 31.

The biennial elections cover the Pune Division Graduates’, Nagpur Division Graduates’, Pune Division Teachers’, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Graduates’ and Amravati Teachers’ constituencies. The polls were necessitated by the completion of the sitting members’ terms on December 6.

The ruling Mahayuti alliance, comprising the BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and NCP, and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), comprising the Congress, Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT), are contesting all five seats.

In the Pune Graduates’ constituency, BJP candidate Smita Jadhav is contesting against NCP (SP) nominee Harshada Deshmukh, while Shiv Sena (UBT) has also fielded a candidate. In Nagpur Graduates’, sitting MLC Abhijit Wanjari faces BJP nominee Sudhakar Kohale. BJP rebel Anil Sole has withdrawn and backed Kohale, although his name remains on the ballot.

In Pune Teachers’, BJP candidate Kaustubh Gawde is challenging sitting Congress MLC Jayant Asgaonkar. Shiv Sena is supporting independent candidate Sachin Sanap. In Amravati Teachers’, sitting MLC Kiran Sarnaik, contesting on a Shiv Sena ticket, faces Congress candidate Aditi Pohare, with Shiv Sena (UBT) also fielding a nominee.

The Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Graduates’ constituency features sitting NCP MLC Satish Chavan against NCP (SP) candidate Pratapsinh Patil, alongside a Shiv Sena (UBT) nominee.

Pune Graduates’ has the highest number of candidates at 47, followed by Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Graduates with 41, Nagpur Graduates with 38, Pune Teachers’ with 30 and Amravati Teachers’ with 26.

In the 78-member Council, the BJP has 35 members, Shiv Sena 12 and NCP 10. The Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) have five each, NCP (SP) has two, and four members are Independents.