Biennial elections to four Legislative Council seats tommorrow

Mumbai, June 23 (UNI) Biennial elections to four Legislative Council seats from the teachers and graduates constituencies will be held tommorrow.

The four seats are Mumbai graduates, Mumbai teachers, Nashik teachers and Konkan graduates.

For the Mumbai graduates, the main fight is between Amarjit Singh Manhas of the Congress and Dr Deepak Sawant of Shiv Sena.

However, NCP rebel Shivajirao Nalawade is contesting as an independent. There are five more independents and one candidate of JD(S)- Prabhakar Narkar, a former Journalist.

There are 81,414 graduate voters who will exercise their franchise. The seat was earlier held by Shiv Sena veteran Pramod Navalkar for several years.

There are 11 candidates in the fray, including Nilesh Chavan of the NCP and Sanjay Kelkar of the BJP, for the Konkan division graduates seat.

There are 13 contestants for the Mumbai teachers constituency including Balasaheb Mahadeo Mhatre of Congress. Similarly,there are ten candidates in the fray for the Nashik teachers constituency including Vishnu Nikam of Shiv Sena. In Mumbai teachers and Nashik teachers, except Congress and Shiv Sena respectively, no other political party has fielded its candidates.

There are 19314 voters in Mumbai teachers constituency, 43910 in Nashik teachers and 58549 in Konkan division graduates.

Counting of votes and declaration of results will take place on June 26.

Political analysts feel that the poll outcome in Mumbai graduates and Mumbai teachers constituencies will determine the mood of the electorate in the metropolis ahead of the crucial civic elections scheduled early next year.

The division of anti-Shiv Sena votes in Mumbai graduates constituency makes the poll battle more interesting as the seat has been held by the Shiv Sena for many years.

Eventhough the NCP is officially backing the Congress nominee, a close confidante of City congress chief Gurudas Kamat, local NCP office-bearers are working for Shivajirao Nalawade, NCP's Mumbai unit vice president, to ensure a split in Shiv Sena votes.

Mumbai Congress spokesman Ajit Sawant said the NCP has given the Congress a letter of support for the Mumbai graduates constituency in return for the Congress support in Konkan division graduates constituency. But, it is being seen that local workers of NCP have put up banners in Nalawade's support.

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