14 MLAs including Bawankule, Patole and 2 MPs cannot vote in Nagpur graduates' constituency poll

An unusual situation has arisen in the Nagpur division graduates' constituency election. Fourteen MLAs and two MPs from the region will not be able to vote because of their limited educational qualifications, as only graduates can become voters in this election.

The leaders on the list include the BJP's Chandrashekhar Bawankule and the Congress's Nana Patole and Vijay Wadettiwar. Former minister Dharmarao Baba Atram is also unable to vote. Among MPs, Ramtek's Shyam Kumar Barve and Rajya Sabha member Maya Ivnate are on the list.

In Legislative Council elections, MLAs usually vote. But under the rules for graduates' constituencies, a voter must be a graduate. Of the 32 MLAs in Nagpur division, 14 are not graduates. Their education extends to Class 10, Class 12 or the first or second year of college. These elected representatives, who run the politics of the district, are themselves not voters in this election.

All of them play an active political role in their areas, but are not eligible to be on the voter list for this election. The reason is that they do not meet the prescribed educational qualification.

In Nagpur district, Krishna Khopde studied up to Class 7, Charan Singh Thakur up to Class 12 and Mohan Mate up to ITI. Pravin Datke has first-year diploma education, while Bawankule studied up to first-year B.Sc. In Chandrapur, Wadettiwar and Kishor Jorgewar have passed Class 10.

In Bhandara, Raju Karemore has passed Class 12, while Patole studied up to second-year B.A. In Gondia, Vinod Agrawal and Sanjay Puram have passed Class 12. In Gadchiroli, Atram studied up to Class 10.

In Wardha, Sameer Kunawar has passed Class 12 and Rajesh Bakane studied up to first-year B.A. Among the MPs, Ivnate studied up to Class 5 and Barve up to second-year B.A.