Harshada Deshmukh leads Pune graduates' seat count, 1,816 votes short of quota

Counting of votes for five seats in the teachers' and graduates' constituencies of the state Legislative Council began at 8 am on Tuesday, the 27th. The contest was a direct fight between the Mahayuti and the Maha Vikas Aghadi. Friendly contests were also seen in some places. All eyes are also on whose prospects the rebel candidates will spoil.

In the Pune graduates' constituency, the quota needed to win is fixed at 101,395 votes, but no candidate has yet met it. So far, 21 candidates have been eliminated.

In the latest figures, the Nationalist Congress Party's Harshada Deshmukh is in first place with 111,279 votes. The BJP's Smita Jadhav is second with 102,427 votes. Sunil Modi of the Uddhav Thackeray faction is third with 3,066 votes. Deshmukh leads Jadhav by 8,852 votes. She needs 1,816 more votes to meet the quota.

Harshada Jadhav Deshmukh, the Maha Vikas Aghadi candidate, had built a big lead in the very first round, while the BJP's Smita Jadhav trailed. That lead has held so far. The quota could not be met on first-preference votes, so counting of further rounds is under way.

In the teachers' constituency, the BJP's candidate Kaustubh Gavde is leading. Sachin Sanap, who has Shiv Sena's support, is trailing.

Counting is moving towards its final round. Congress's Jayant Asgaonkar was eliminated in the fourth round, and his votes are now being counted. The count will show whether these votes change anything for Sachin Sanap, who is second, and Dattatray Sawant, who is third. After that it will be decided which candidate is eliminated next, and then the final result will emerge. The final result is expected by afternoon.