Maharashtra MLC polls: Over four lakh voters to determine fate of 55 candidates; results on July 1

Maharashtra MLC polls: Maharashtra's charged political climate continues with upcoming MLC elections for four seats, impacting the Assembly elections in October.

The political climate in Maharashtra remains charged following the Lok Sabha election, with the upcoming election for four Graduates and Teachers Members of Legislative Council (MLC) seats carrying considerable weight. This scenario will persist until the Assembly elections for 288 constituencies are scheduled in October.

On Wednesday, over 4.29 lakh voters will decide the fate of 55 candidates for the biennial elections to the Mumbai Graduates, Mumbai Teachers, Nashik Teachers and Konkan Graduates constituencies in the upper house of the State legislature with results expected on July 1.

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The Legislative Council currently comprises 78 seats; BJP holds 22, Shiv Sena (undivided) 11, NCP (undivided) nine, and Congress eight seats. Independents and smaller parties holds the rest, with 21 seats vacant due to recent political realignments.

In the Mumbai Graduates constituency, the main contenders among the eight candidates are former State minister Anil Parab of Shiv Sena (UBT) and BJP’s Kiran Shelar. There are 1.20 lakh eligible voters in this constituency, comprising over 71,000 men, more than 49,000 women and six others. The need for these elections arises as the current members’ terms are set to expire in July.

Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Parab said that of 1.20 lakh voters, 65,000 to 70,000 were registered through their party. “The results depend on the voters’ turnout. We request the voters to step and exercise their franchise. I have campaigned in schools, colleges and other institutions and shared my progress report and vision for the constituency,” the Uddhav Thackeray loyalist said.

He also alleged that 10,000 to 12,000 voters registered by his party are missing from the final voter list, and accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of political interference in its operations. He claimed that names registered by rival parties have been included in the list.