Counting begins for Pune division graduates and teachers constituency seats in Legislative Council

Counting of votes for the graduates and teachers constituency seats of the Pune division in the Legislative Council began at 8 am today. The counting is being held at the Shri Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Balewadi.

Officials said counting for both seats will go on through the day and may stretch into the night. A clear trend from the first round for the graduates seat is expected by afternoon, while the final results for both seats may take about 24 hours.

A total of 77 candidates are in the fray, 47 for the graduates seat and 30 for the teachers seat. Their fate will be decided when the final results are declared, which are expected by October 28.

Voting for both seats was held on Friday, October 23. After the polling, ballot boxes from Pune, Solapur, Satara, Sangli and Kolhapur districts were brought to Pune and kept for counting.

Tehsildars, sub-divisional magistrates and deputy collectors from these five districts have been deployed in Pune to handle the counting. Divisional Commissioner Teli-Ugale trained them for the task.

Teli-Ugale said the administration had tried to provide polling officers and staff with as many facilities as possible. He told the staff to work calmly during the counting rounds, avoid mistakes and not come under any pressure. According to him, all forms must be filled in properly and handed over to the concerned team. Any doubt or objection over whether a ballot paper is valid or invalid must be settled properly on the spot.

Staff handling the counting for the teachers seat were also trained separately. Additional District Collector and Mahaurja Additional Director General Arun Anandkar briefed the counting officials and staff. Joint Commissioner Sanjay Palande explained the counting process to them.