Graduates and teachers across five Maharashtra Legislative Council constituencies voted on Friday, October 23, in a contest that both the ruling Mahayuti and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) say they will sweep. Official data cited by PTI showed an average turnout of 42.7 per cent till 2 pm, with teachers turning out in far bigger numbers than graduates.
Polling ran from 8 am to 4 pm across 2,419 polling stations, and 182 candidates are in the fray. Votes will be counted on October 27.
Which Seats Went to the Polls
The five seats – three graduates' constituencies and two teachers' constituencies – are Pune Division Graduates, Nagpur Graduates, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad) Division Graduates, Pune Teachers and Amravati Teachers. Unlike regular Assembly polls, only registered graduates and teachers living in these divisions can vote, which is why the electorates are much smaller and the turnout pattern is different.
| Constituency | Voters / Turnout till 2 pm |
|---|---|
| Pune Division Graduates | 3,88,019 voters – 40.6% (47 candidates) |
| Nagpur Graduates | 2,55,603 voters – 38.88% (38 candidates) |
| Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Graduates | 3,26,700 voters – 36.02% (41 candidates) |
| Amravati Teachers | 35,810 voters – 62.54% (26 candidates) |
| Pune Teachers | 61,940 voters – 57.89% (30 candidates) |
| Average turnout (2 pm) | 42.7% |
| Counting | October 27, 2026 |
Both Alliances Claim a Clean Sweep
The Mahayuti – the BJP, Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena and the NCP led by Sunetra Pawar – and the MVA – the Congress, Sharad Pawar's NCP and Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena (UBT) – are contesting all five seats. Rebel candidates, however, have complicated the arithmetic for both sides in the Nagpur and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar graduates' seats.
Union Minister of State Murlidhar Mohol, who is backing Mahayuti candidates Smita Jadhav and Kaustubh Gawde in Pune, said the alliance would win all five seats. He described graduate and teacher voters as "educated and analytical" and noted that council polls follow a different dynamic from cooperative or local body elections. Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil made the same prediction.
On the other side, Congress Legislature Party leader Vijay Wadettiwar predicted the MVA would win all five and said flawed voter lists were a critical issue in this election.
The Nagpur voter-list row
The sharpest controversy came from Nagpur, where the Congress has fielded Abhijit Wanjari for the graduates' seat. Party leaders flagged 8,744 duplicate entries across booths, and state chief spokesperson Atul Londhe alleged that 20,000 to 22,000 voter registrations had been processed using a single mobile number. Congress leader Prafulla Goodhe submitted a letter to the divisional commissioner seeking an inquiry.
To deal with the duplicates, authorities asked voters with more than one listing to sign a short declaration that they would vote at only one designated location. Voters also had to show a valid photo ID such as an Aadhaar card, PAN card, passport, driving licence, service ID or an original university degree.
Why These Five Seats Matter
The 78-member Legislative Council is the upper house of the Maharashtra legislature. Going into this poll, the BJP had 35 members, the Shiv Sena 12, the NCP 10, the Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) five each, the NCP (SP) two, and there were four independents. The Mahayuti is already comfortably placed, so five seats will not change control of the House – but they matter for perception.
Graduates' and teachers' constituencies are often read as a barometer of the mood among the educated middle class and the teaching community. The Pune Division Graduates seat alone has nearly 3.9 lakh voters, more than many Assembly seats. A strong MVA showing would give the opposition a talking point; a Mahayuti sweep would reinforce the alliance's dominance after its local body successes.
What It Means for Voters
For teachers and graduates, MLCs elected from these seats are expected to raise issues such as teacher recruitment, pending salary grants for aided schools, pension demands, unemployment among graduates and the quality of higher education. The higher turnout among teachers – above 57 per cent in both teachers' seats by 2 pm – reflects how organised teacher associations are in these contests.
What Happens Next
Final turnout figures will be released by the election authorities after polling closes. Counting will take place on Tuesday, October 27, and the election process is scheduled to be completed by October 31. Counting in graduates' and teachers' constituencies uses preferential voting, so results in crowded contests like Pune Graduates, with 47 candidates, can take long hours before a winner crosses the quota.
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