Mumbai, Sep 22 (IANS) The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday announced the election dates for five key Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC) seats.
The election covers three Graduate constituencies (Aurangabad, Pune, and Nagpur) and two Teachers’ constituencies (Amravati and Pune), where the terms of the sitting members are set to expire on December 6, 2026.
According to official schedule released by the ECI, the notification will be issued on September 29, 2026, last date for nominations is October 6, 2026 while scrutiny of nominations will end by October 7, 2026. Polling will be held on October 23, 2026 from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM and the counting of votes will t take place on October 27.
Incumbent Representatives from Graduate Constituencies are Aurangabad Division – Bhanudasrao Satish Chavan (NCP), Pune Division – Arun Ganpati Lad( NCP SP) and Nagpur Division – Abhijit Govindrao Wanjari (Congress). The legislative members from the Teachers’ Constituencies include Amravati Division – Kiran Ramrao Sarnaik (Independent but officially joined Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena as an associate member) and Pune Division – Jayant Dinkar Asgaonkar (Congress).
The election declaration has set off discussion within the Mahayuti alliance—comprising Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena, and NCP, with all of the constituents eager to assert their presence across educated and influential voting bases.
The BJP views the Graduate constituencies as its traditional vote bank, having historically represented seats like Pune and Nagpur through senior leaders. Party strategists are keen to reclaim these seats after losing them in previous cycles. Ajit Pawar’s NCP holds strong grassroots claims, particularly in Pune Division while Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena has been actively consolidating outreach among educators, professors, and youth networks across Western Maharashtra and Amravati.
Key organisational leaders from Shinde’s party have conducted regional tours and secured endorsements from various teachers’ associations, making a compelling case for Shiv Sena candidates in the Teachers’ constituencies.
Mahayuti leadership emphasised that a unified seat-sharing formula will be finalised smoothly, with alliance leaders asserting that the coalition’s primary goal is to avoid vote fragmentation and leverage combined cadre strength to deliver a strong victory.
“Our focus remains on presenting a united front. Each constituent party brings a distinct organisational advantage among teachers, professionals, and graduates. A joint strategy will ensure a decisive victory across all five seats,” said a Mahayuti alliance source.
With polling scheduled for October 23, seat-allocation talks among top coalition leaders are set to accelerate before nominations open on September 29.
On the other hand, Opposition comprising Shiv Sena UBT, NCP SP and Congress will soon meet to decide their poll strategy. Sources indicated that three parties are expected to jointly contest the polls as Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance.
–IANS
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