Pune graduates' seat count under way, preference counting expected after 4 pm

Counting of votes for the Pune graduates' and teachers' constituencies is under way at the Shri Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Balewadi. The first stage is in progress, with officials sorting ballot papers and making bundles of 50 each. The next stages of scrutiny will begin only after this.

Once the bundling is complete, election officials will separate valid and invalid votes. No postal ballot was cast in this election. The quota a candidate needs to win will therefore be worked out only after the final count of valid votes is settled.

For this reason, counting by order of preference is expected to begin only after 4 pm. How quickly the scrutiny and counting proceed will determine when the early indications of the contest emerge in the evening.

The Pune graduates' constituency covers five districts: Pune, Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur and Solapur. Polling of 62.78 per cent was recorded here. Of 3,88,019 registered voters, 2,43,611 voted. The figure is higher than the 58.16 per cent in the 2020 election, meaning more people turned out to vote than last time.

District-wise, Solapur recorded the highest turnout among the five districts, at 71.42 per cent. Sangli recorded the lowest, at 55.62 per cent.

A total of 47 candidates are in the fray for the graduates' seat, of whom 35 are independents. With so many candidates, the votes are likely to be split among several contenders.

Counting is being done under the preference system, so the result will depend on the total number of valid votes and the quota fixed for victory. All eyes are on this close contest, and the first trends expected by evening may make the picture somewhat clearer.