Polling for four Council seats held

Mumbai, June 24 (UNI) Voting for four Legislative Council seats under the teachers and graduates constituencies concluded today.

The four include a graduates and teachers constituency in Mumbai, a teachers constituency in Nashik and a graduates constituency in Konkan. The counting will be held on June 26, according to Chief Electoral Officer U P S Madan.

Mr Madan told UNI that 45 per cent voting was reported in both the Mumbai graduates and teachers constituencies, while 50 per cent voting was reported in Konkan graduates and 70 per cent in Nasik teachers constituency.

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

However, NCP rebel Shivajirao Nalawade is contesting as an Independent. There are five more Independents and one JD (S) candidate Prabhakar Narkar, a former journalist, in fray.

There are 81,414 graduate voters who will exercise their franchise. The seat was earlier held by Shiv Sena veteran Pramod Navalkar for three consecutive terms since 1988. Prior to that, BJP's Madhu Deolekar held the post for two terms. Mumbai graduate's seat was always a citadel of the BJP or Sena.

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. Besides, there are 10 candidates in the fray for the Nashik teachers constituency, including Vishnu Nikam of Shiv Sena. In Mumbai teachers and Nashik teachers, except the Congress and Shiv Sena, respectively, no other political party has fielded its candidates.

There are 19,314 voters in Mumbai teachers constituency, 43,910 in Nashik teachers and 58,549 in Konkan division graduates.

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.

Even though 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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