Counting under way for five Maharashtra Legislative Council seats, a test for Mahayuti

Counting of votes for elections to five seats of the Maharashtra Legislative Council is being held today, 27 October. Voting took place on 23 October. All eyes are now on the results from five constituencies: Pune Graduates, Pune Teachers, Nagpur Graduates, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Graduates and Amravati Teachers.

The biennial election is being held for five of the Council's 78 seats. The terms of the sitting members from these seats end on 6 December 2026, which is why polling was held to choose new representatives. The five constituencies have a total of 10,68,072 voters, and 182 candidates are in the fray. The results are expected to show the strength of the Mahayuti partners and their influence at the local level.

Overall turnout on 23 October was recorded at 72.96 per cent. Voters showed more enthusiasm in the teachers' constituencies, while turnout was lower in the graduates' constituencies by comparison. Constituency-wise figures were: Amravati Teachers 92.25 per cent, Pune Teachers 85.86 per cent, Nagpur Graduates 64.82 per cent, Pune Graduates 62.76 per cent and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Graduates 59.12 per cent.

Amravati Teachers recorded the highest turnout at 92.25 per cent, so the result there is being watched closely. Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Graduates, on the other hand, saw the lowest turnout at 59.12 per cent.

For this election the Mahayuti had settled on a 3:1:1 seat formula. Under it, the BJP focused on three seats, the Sunetra Pawar faction of the NCP on one and the Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena on one. The BJP was responsible for Pune Graduates, Pune Teachers and Nagpur Graduates. Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Graduates went to the Sunetra Pawar faction of the NCP, while Amravati Teachers was allotted to the Shinde faction.

Despite the seat-sharing agreement, all was not well within the Mahayuti. In some places, internal resentment and rebellion among allied parties kept political equations in discussion. In Pune, there was talk that rebel candidates standing against the BJP were getting the support of the Shinde faction. It remains to be seen what effect this infighting has on the results.

The five results are seen as important for the opposition parties as well as the Mahayuti. The results may show how far local issues in the teachers' and graduates' constituencies, the candidates' image and discontent within parties influenced voters.

Today's counting will show how many seats each party wins. The results for all five seats are expected to be declared by afternoon, though the actual time of the announcements will depend on the counting process.