Mumbai: The ruling Mahayuti and Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi are set to test their strength in the Maharashtra Legislative Council elections, with 182 candidates contesting five seats scheduled for polling on Friday.
Biennial elections are scheduled for five seats -- three Graduates' and two Teachers' constituencies -- in the 78-member Legislative Council. These are Pune Division Graduates', Nagpur Division Graduates', Pune Division Teachers', Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad) Graduates' and Amravati Teachers' constituencies.
Polling will be held from 8 am to 4 pm on Friday, while counting of votes is scheduled for October 27. The election process will be completed by October 31, an official release said.
Registered graduates and teachers residing within the respective geographical divisions are eligible to vote in these elections.
The five outgoing members, whose terms end on December 6, are Satish Chavan (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Graduates), Arun Lad (Pune Graduates), Abhijit Vanjari (Nagpur Graduates), Kiran Sarnaik (Amravati Teachers) and Jayant Asgaonkar (Pune Teachers).
The Mahayuti, comprising the BJP, Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena and Sunetra Pawar-led NCP, and the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance of the Congress, Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) and Uddhav Thackeray-headed Shiv Sena (UBT) are contesting all five seats.
The BJP has fielded candidates in the Nagpur Graduates', Pune Graduates' and Pune Teachers' seats, while the NCP is contesting the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Graduates' seat and the Shiv Sena the Amravati Teachers' constituency.
In the MVA camp, the Congress is contesting the Nagpur Graduates' and Pune Teachers' seats; NCP (SP) has fielded candidates in the Pune and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Graduates' constituencies, while Shiv Sena (UBT) is in the fray for the Amravati Teachers' seat.
A total of 10,68,072 voters are eligible to exercise their franchise across 2,419 polling stations.
The Pune Graduates' constituency has the highest number of voters at 3,88,019, while the Amravati Teachers' constituency has the lowest at 35,810.
The Pune Graduates' constituency has the highest number of candidates at 47, followed by Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Graduates - 41, Nagpur Graduates - 38, Pune Teachers' - 30, and Amravati Teachers - 26.
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Graduates' constituency has the highest number of polling stations at 842, followed by Pune Graduates - 741, Nagpur Graduates - 445, Pune Teachers - 310 and Amravati Teachers - 81.
The election machinery is prepared to ensure that the polls are conducted in a fair, transparent and fear-free atmosphere, the release said.