72.96% turnout in five Maharashtra Legislative Council seats, Amravati teachers' seat leads at 92.25%

About 72.96 per cent of votes were cast in the elections to five seats of the Maharashtra Legislative Council, three of them graduates' constituencies and two teachers' constituencies, officials said on Monday, October 26.

The highest turnout was in the Amravati division teachers' constituency, at 92.25 per cent. Of 35,810 registered voters, 33,034 voted.

The Pune division teachers' constituency came second with 85.86 per cent turnout. Of 61,940 registered voters, 53,184 turned up to vote.

Voting in the graduates' seats was lower than in the teachers' seats. The Nagpur division graduates' constituency recorded 64.82 per cent, with 1,65,672 of 2,55,603 registered voters voting. In the Pune division graduates' constituency, 62.76 per cent voted, with 2,43,521 of 3,88,019 registered voters exercising their franchise. The lowest turnout, 59.12 per cent, was in the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad) division graduates' constituency, where 1,93,134 of 3,26,700 registered voters voted.

Voting in all five constituencies, Pune graduates, Nagpur graduates, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar graduates, Pune teachers and Amravati teachers, took place on October 23. Votes will be counted on October 27.

A total of 182 candidates were in the fray across the five constituencies. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fielded candidates in Nagpur graduates, Pune teachers and Pune graduates. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) contested the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad) graduates' seat, while the Shiv Sena fielded a candidate in the Amravati teachers' seat.

The Shiv Sena also backed an independent candidate against the BJP's official candidate in the Pune teachers' constituency. The BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP are part of the ruling Mahayuti alliance.

The Congress, part of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), contested the Nagpur graduates', Pune teachers' and Amravati teachers' constituencies.