Voting under way for Legislative Council teachers and graduates seats, 182 candidates in fray

Voting is being held today, Friday, October 23, for the teachers' and graduates' constituencies of the state Legislative Council. The election is being held in constituencies in the Pune, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Amravati and Nagpur regions, and the fate of 182 candidates will be sealed in the ballot boxes today. The results will be declared on October 27.

Polling began at 8 am and will continue until 4 pm. The local administration has made extensive preparations to ensure smooth voting. In the five constituencies in the state, 182 candidates are in the fray, and 10,68,072 voters will exercise their franchise for them.

Several rebel candidates and independents have posed a major challenge in this election. It is therefore expected that the headache of the established candidates will grow. The prestige of several heavyweights is at stake.

Here is who is contesting against whom. In the Pune graduates' constituency, the contest is between Harshada Jadhav-Deshmukh of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction) and Smita Jadhav of the BJP. In the Pune teachers' constituency, Kaustubh Gawde of the BJP, Jayant Asgaonkar of the Indian National Congress and Sachin Sanap, backed by Shinde's Shiv Sena, are in the fray. Independent candidate Dattatray Sawant is also contesting.

Figures on polling stations have also emerged. There are 232 polling stations in all for the Pune graduates' and teachers' constituencies, where 1,05,084 voters will vote. In the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar graduates' constituency, 3,26,700 voters in Marathwada will vote, and 842 polling stations have been set up for them across eight districts. In the Amravati teachers' constituency, there are 81 polling stations, where 35,810 teacher voters will vote.

Voters must carry proof of identity to vote. Aadhaar card, driving licence, PAN card and Indian passport are accepted. Service identity cards issued to employees by the state or central government, public sector undertakings, local self-government bodies or private industrial establishments are also accepted. Official identity cards issued to MPs, MLAs and members of the Legislative Council, and service identity cards issued by educational institutions, will also be accepted. The identity card of educational institutions is meant for voters in the teachers' and graduates' constituencies.