Pune teachers' seat: Quota set at 25,756 votes to win, BJP's Kaustubh Gawade leads early count

An important detail has emerged during the counting for the Pune teachers' constituency. The quota of votes needed to win has been fixed. A total of 51,511 votes have been found valid, and on that basis the quota has been set at 25,756 votes. These are first-preference votes. The candidate who reaches this quota will be declared the winner. For now, the BJP's Kaustubh Gawade is leading.

The seat had led to sharp differences between Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena and the BJP. As a result, there is a friendly contest between the Shiv Sena and the BJP here. Shinde's Shiv Sena had first nominated Mangesh Chivte, who had also filed his nomination form. He later withdrew. The Shiv Sena then backed independent candidate Sachin Sanap. Jayant Asgaonkar is in the fray on behalf of the Congress and the Maha Vikas Aghadi. The real fight is considered to be among these three.

The Pune seat is a matter of prestige for Shinde's Shiv Sena. The party first fielded its official candidate, then withdrew him and went on to back an independent. In Pune, the BJP is stronger than Shinde's Shiv Sena. Chivte had been preparing for this election for the past two to three years, but had to step back at the last moment.

Ravindra Dhangekar, a Shinde Shiv Sena leader in Pune, has been targeting the BJP continuously. On the day of the result too, Dhangekar launched a strong attack on the BJP. Ravindra Dhangekar said, "Today, in fact, democracy will win. These are citizens who exchange ideas, and they must have voted after careful thought. We are hearing talk of crores of rupees, lakhs of rupees being spent. Today's result will go in favour of teachers and graduates."

On polling, a total of 61,940 voters were registered for the Pune teachers' constituency election. Voting took place on October 23 between 8 am and 4 pm. A turnout of 85.87 per cent was recorded in the election.