The NCP (SP) and the BJP won the Pune Graduates and Pune Teachers constituencies, respectively, in the Maharashtra Legislative Council elections on Wednesday, with Harshada Deshmukh-Jadhav defeating BJP candidate Smita Jadhav in the graduates’ seat and Kaustubh Gawade emerging victorious in the teachers’ constituency.
Winning MLC polls in Pune has offered a major boost to NCP (SP), which had received multiple setbacks in recently held civic polls.
Deshmukh-Jadhav polled 1,13,840 votes against 1,03,912 votes secured by Smita Jadhav, a margin of 9,928 votes. She crossed the winning quota of 1,13,095 votes after a prolonged counting process involving preferential voting.
In the Pune Teachers’ constituency, BJP candidate Gawade defeated Shiv Sena-backed Sachin Sanap. At the end of 28 rounds of counting, Gawade secured 23,117 votes, while Sanap polled 16,347 votes.
Speaking after her victory, Deshmukh-Jadhav identified unemployment, inflation and concerns over education as priorities for graduates.
“It is important to work on these issues. We have a large young population, but aspiring entrepreneurs and those looking to establish start-ups do not have adequate guidance centres at the district level,” she said.
She also stressed the need to ensure that government policies reach their intended beneficiaries rather than remaining confined to official announcements.
{{/usCountry}}She also stressed the need to ensure that government policies reach their intended beneficiaries rather than remaining confined to official announcements.
{{/usCountry}}“Policies do not necessarily have to be very elaborate. What matters most is that every policy reaches the last person in the system,” she said.
Deshmukh-Jadhav flagged the need for greater transparency in the functioning of the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC), citing pending issues concerning recruitment and examinations.
“There are many pending issues related to the MPSC. Transparency is lacking, and there is a need to work on this,” she said.
She also announced plans for a ‘Smart Graduate’ programme aimed at improving graduates’ employment prospects and entrepreneurial skills.
Gawade, meanwhile, described his victory as a mandate from the teaching community and pledged to work towards resolving teachers’ long-pending issues.
“This victory is not mine alone; I consider it a victory of all teachers. From the day I took up the fight on the streets for teachers’ rights and justice, I dedicated my life to their cause,” he said.
He said he would focus on the concerns of teachers and non-teaching staff, particularly those employed in unaided and partially aided schools before 2005 who had not received the benefits of the old pension scheme.
Gawade also rejected allegations that money had been distributed to teachers or that educational institutions had been pressured to influence voting.
Polling for the five Legislative Council constituencies: Pune Graduates, Nagpur Graduates, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Graduates, Pune Teachers and Amravati Teachers , was held on October 23. The combined voter turnout was 72.96%, officials said.
The elections were necessitated by the expiry of the sitting members’ terms on December 6.