E-Paper
Pune MLC polls: Harshada and Gawade lead in early trends
NCP (SP) candidate Harshada Deshmukh-Jadhav was leading in first-preference count for Pune division Graduates’ constituency in MLC elections, while BJP’s Kaustubh Gawade was ahead in Teachers’ constituency
Prefer HTon Google
PUNE: NCP (SP) candidate Harshada Deshmukh-Jadhav was leading BJP’s Smita Jadhav in the first-preference count for the Pune division Graduates’ constituency in the Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC) elections, while BJP candidate Kaustubh Gawade was ahead in the Teachers’ constituency, according to early trends on Tuesday.
Counting is underway at Shri Chhatrapati Shivaji Sports Complex in Balewadi, with the final results expected on Wednesday.
In the Graduates’ constituency, 226,224 valid votes were counted for determining the winning quota, which was set at 113,113 votes. Candidates must secure the prescribed quota to win.
The elections follow the proportional representation system using the single transferable vote (STV) method, under which voters rank candidates by preference. If no candidate reaches the quota in the initial count, the lowest-placed candidates are eliminated and their votes transferred according to the next available preferences.
The main contest in the Graduates’ constituency is between Harshada Deshmukh-Jadhav and Smita Jadhav, with Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Sunil Modi also in the fray.
In the Teachers’ constituency, Gawade is contesting against sitting MLC and Congress candidate Dinkar Aasgaonkar and Shiv Sena-backed independent candidate Sachin Sanap.
Election officials said the counting process takes time because ballot papers must be sorted and preferences tallied before the results can be declared.
In the Graduates’ constituency, 243,611 of 3,88,019 registered voters cast their ballots across Pune, Solapur, Satara, Sangli and Kolhapur districts. In the Teachers’ constituency, 53,185 of 61,940 registered voters voted. Polling was held on October 23.
The Teachers’ constituency recorded 51,511 valid votes, setting the winning quota at 25,756.
The results are significant for the ruling Mahayuti and opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), offering an indication of their support among graduates and teachers across the five districts.
