Mumbai: The Maharashtra Legislative Council polls to three graduates’ and two teachers’ seats witnessed an approximate voter turnout of 72.96 per cent, with the Amravati Division Teachers’ constituency leading at 92.25 per cent, officials said on Monday.
Polling for the Pune Graduates’, Nagpur Graduates’, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Graduates’, Pune Teachers’ and Amravati Teachers’ constituencies took place on October 23, and votes will be counted on October 27.
In Amravati, 33,034 of the 35,810 registered teacher voters cast their ballots. The constituency had recorded 81.10 per cent in the 2020 election, when 30,918 of 38,129 registered voters voted. Polling there passed off peacefully. The Pune Division Teachers’ constituency recorded 85.86 per cent, with 53,184 of 61,940 registered voters voting.
Turnout was lower in the graduates’ constituencies. Nagpur Division recorded 64.82 per cent, with 1,65,672 of 2,55,603 registered voters voting. Pune Division recorded 62.76 per cent, with 2,43,521 of 3,88,019 voting. Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad) Division recorded 59.12 per cent, with 1,93,134 of 3,26,700 voting.
A total of 182 candidates were in the fray in the five constituencies. The BJP fielded candidates for the Nagpur Graduates’, Pune Teachers’ and Pune Graduates’ seats. The NCP contested the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Graduates’ seat and the Shiv Sena contested the Amravati Teachers’ seat. The Sena also supported an independent in Pune Teachers’ against the official BJP candidate. The BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP make up the ruling Mahayuti. The Congress, part of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, contested the Nagpur Graduates’, Pune Teachers’ and Amravati Teachers’ seats.
In Nagpur Graduates’, the BJP’s Sudhakar Kohale faced Congress candidate Abhijit Wanjari. In Amravati Teachers’, Shiv Sena’s Kiran Sarnaik, the incumbent, faced Congress candidate Aditi Pohare. In Pune Teachers’, the main contest was expected among BJP’s Kaustubh Gawade, Congress’s Jayant Asgaonkar and Shiv Sena-backed independent Sachin Sanap. In Pune Graduates’, Mahayuti’s Smita Jadhav faced NCP (SP) candidate Harshada Deshmukh-Jadhav. The Shiv Sena (UBT) also fielded Sunil Modi there.