Mumbai, Oct 22 (IANS) The upcoming Legislative Council elections for five Graduate and Teachers’ constituencies, scheduled for Friday, have reached a high pitch of intense competition.
Widespread rebellion, internal factionalism, and tactical political moves across key alliances — the ruling Mahayuti and the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) — are expected to heavily impact the final outcome.
As the campaigning concluded on Wednesday evening, the Mahayuti and the MVA leaders have swung into action to meet registered voters and ensure victory of their respective nominees.
Rebellion has broken out within the MVA in the Pune Graduate constituency. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-SP) led by Sharad Pawar has fielded Harshada Deshmukh-Jadhav, daughter of retired IAS officer Prabhakar Deshmukh. Sunil Modi of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) — a sitting nominated corporator in the Kolhapur Municipal Corporation and former city chief — is also contesting.
Although NCP (SP) leaders claim their campaigning is directed against the BJP, the lack of consensus within MVA has sparked concerns over a potential division of opposition votes. The BJP has fielded Dr Smita Jadhav, daughter-in-law of the founder of Marathi newspaper Pudhari from Kolhapur. BJP is taking no chances as the party has activated its poll machinery for her success.
In the Pune Teachers’ seat, a four-cornered contest has emerged. The BJP has nominated Kaustubh Gawde, while the sitting MLA Jayant Asgaonkar has been renominated by the Congress. Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction), an ally of the BJP in Mahayuti, initially fielded Mangesh Chivate, a close confidant of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, but later withdrew his candidacy.
Shinde subsequently declared support for independent candidate Sachin Sanap, causing concern within the BJP. Dattatray Sawant, a former MLA, is also in the fray representing the Rashtriya Samaj Paksha (RSP).
The election in Amravati Teachers’ Constituency has turned into a high-stakes prestige battle for the Mahayuti alliance amid cash-for-vote allegations and rebel candidates. Rebel candidates from both the BJP (three rebels) and the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction – one rebel) are contesting against official Mahayuti candidates.
Major teacher organisations such as the Vidarbha Madhyamik Shikshak Sangh, ‘Vijukta’, and the Maharashtra Rajya Shikshak Parishad have extended support to BJP rebels. The NUTA organisation has extended support to Congress candidates, along with four other teacher candidates.
The Shinde Sena has fielded sitting legislator Kiran Sarnaik, while Congress has nominated Aditi Pohre, Shiv Sena (UBT) Dattatray Lahane and Samajwadi Ganrajya Party Suresh Devkar. In addition, former legislator Shrikant Despande, Sangita Shinde, who is the sister of BJP MP Anil Bonde, Chandrashekhar Bhoyar and Sumit Pawar are also in the fray. Both Mahayuti and MVA are worried about vote division.
The election in the Nagpur Graduate constituency has become a matter of prestige for both the BJP and Congress. Internal dissatisfaction and potential vote division present significant challenges. The primary battle is between Congress candidate Abhijit Wanjari and BJP candidate Sudhakar Kohale. Senior BJP leader Prof Anil Sole withdrew his nomination; however, his name remains on the ballot paper, raising questions about whether his supporters’ votes will drift away from the official candidate.
Three-time sitting MLC Satish Chavan has been fielded again by the Mahayuti alliance under the NCP banner in the Sambhajinagar Graduate constituency. On the MVA side, the Sharad Pawar-led NCP fielded Dr Pratap Singh Patil, while the Shiv Sena (UBT) fielded Dilip Ghorge, resulting in two MVA candidates competing in the same constituency.
Voting for all five constituencies will take place on Friday via the preferential voting system. Candidates across party lines have been attempting to sway voters with last-minute promises, while strategic preference-voting management remains crucial for all contenders.
(Sanjay Jog can be contacted at sanjay.j@ians.in)
–IANS
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