THE ruling Mahayuti and Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi are set to test their strength in the Maharashtra Legislative Council elections, with 182 candidates contesting five seats scheduled for polling on Friday. Biennial elections are scheduled 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. Polling will be held from 8 am to 4 pm on Friday, while counting of votes is scheduled for October 27. The election process will be completed by October 31, an official release said.

 

Registered graduates and teachers residing within the respective geographical divisions are eligible to vote in these elections. The five outgoing members, whose terms end on December 6, are Satish Chavan (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Graduates), Arun Lad (Pune Graduates), Abhijit Vanjari (Nagpur Graduates), KiranSarnaik (Amravati Teachers) and Jayant Asgaonkar (Pune Teachers). 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 Thackerayheaded Shiv Sena (UBT) are contesting all five seats. The BJP has fielded candidates in the Nagpur Graduates’, Pune Graduates’ and Pune Teachers’ seats, while the NCP is contesting the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Graduates’ seat and the Shiv Sena the Amravati Teachers’ constituency