Bichukale out of Pune teachers' seat race with 19 votes, still in fray for graduates' seat

Dr Abhijeet Bichukale got only 19 votes in the Pune teachers' constituency election and was knocked out of the race. After filing his nomination, he had said he could take on anyone on teachers' issues. He was among the candidates eliminated in the elimination rounds.

Bichukale had filed nominations for both the teachers' and the graduates' elections. He is out of the teachers' contest, but his challenge in the Pune graduates' constituency continues. It remains to be seen whether he can make an impact in the graduates' election after his exit from the teachers' seat.

A final list of 30 candidates had been set for the Pune teachers' constituency. It included candidates of various parties as well as Independents. Bichukale, who is often in the news for his statements, was on the list. However, he had to leave after getting only 19 votes in the first two rounds. In all, 19 candidates have been eliminated in the elimination rounds for the teachers' seat.

In the count for the teachers' seat, Kaustubh Gawade has received 17,600 votes. Sachin Sanap has received 11,328, Dattatray Sawant 10,377 and Jayant Asgaonkar 8,350. The quota for this seat is 25,756 votes, so the result is still some way off.

In the Pune graduates' constituency, Harshada Jadhav received 1,12,400 votes in the first round. Smit Jadhav received 1,02,000 votes. The quota for the graduates' seat has been set at 1,13,113 votes, and Harshada Jadhav needs 716 more votes to reach the winning quota.

After filing his nomination, Bichukale had said he could take on anyone on teachers' issues. According to him, any test would show that he stays away from intoxicants. He had also said he knows well what teachers do.

Addressing graduates, Bichukale had said that if they elected him, they would not have to sit on the road and agitate. He had said their leaders were lax and that a leader should be like Dr Abhijeet Bichukale. He had said that if elected, he would make life difficult for Devabhau. Stating his only slogan, "If I stand, I am bigger than the government", he had thrown down a challenge to the other candidates.