Mahayuti settles seat-sharing for Legislative Council polls; BJP gets Pune teachers' seat

The knot over seat-sharing in the Mahayuti ahead of the elections to the graduates' and teachers' constituencies of the Maharashtra Legislative Council has reportedly been resolved. For the past few days, the BJP, the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party had been pulling in different directions over the Pune teachers' constituency. The seat has finally gone to the BJP.

The election covers three graduates' and two teachers' constituencies in Maharashtra. Voting will be held on October 23, 2026, and the votes will be counted on October 27.

According to the information that has emerged, the Pune teachers' constituency will stay with the BJP. The Pune graduates' and Nagpur graduates' constituencies are also said to be going to the BJP. The Amravati teachers' constituency will go to the Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena, while the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar graduates' constituency is said to be going to the Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP. Talk of a similar division of these seats had gathered pace earlier too.

With the Pune teachers' seat going to the BJP, activity within the party has picked up. BJP state president Ravindra Chavan is said to have met the party's national president Nitin Naveen and handed over a list of probable candidates for the three constituencies. Five probable names have been kept for each seat, so 15 names in all have been sent to the central leadership. The final candidates will be announced after the party's central-level process.

Local aspirants of the Shiv Sena and the NCP had also staked claim to the Pune teachers' constituency. With the seat going to the BJP, placating these aspirants is a challenge for the Mahayuti. Senior leaders are said to be set to talk to them to maintain coordination among the alliance partners. The process of choosing candidates is likely to speed up now.

In the Maha Vikas Aghadi, too, discussions are on over seat-sharing for the Council elections. The Congress has announced candidates for three constituencies: Jayant Asgaonkar for the Pune teachers' constituency, Abhijit Wanjari for the Nagpur graduates' and Aditi Pohare for the Amravati teachers'. The Congress decision is said to have caused resentment among its allies. Political circles are therefore now watching the seats and candidates of the Maha Vikas Aghadi as well, after the Mahayuti.

The election schedule is as follows. The notification was issued on September 29, 2026. The last date for filing nominations is October 6, 2026. Nominations will be scrutinised on October 7, and the last date for withdrawal is October 9. Voting on October 23, 2026 will run from 8 am to 4 pm, and counting will take place on October 27, 2026.