Nagpur: Two midnights on, there was no tryst with destiny in the Nagpur graduates’ constituency elections even as ruling Mahayuti and opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) bagged two seats each in the Maharashtra Legislative Council poll results declared on Wednesday.As counting stretched beyond 40 hours, Congress sitting MLC Abhijit Wanjarri claimed victory over BJP challenger Sudhakar Kohale, though the result remained officially undeclared.Even as the prestige battle for Nagpur graduates’ constituency continued amid the prolonged count, Kohale reportedly conceded defeat and blamed the election process, including transfer of votes following the elimination of other candidates.For Mahayuti there was much cheer in Amravati with sitting MLC Kiran Sarnaik retaining Amravati division teachers’ constituency by 8,027 votes, giving Sena (Shinde) its first victory in the seat under the party banner. BJP candidate Kaustubh Gawade defeated Shiv Sena rebel Sachin Sanap in the Pune teachers’ constituency, giving the ruling alliance a second win.MVA struck back in the graduates’ constituencies. NCP (SP) candidate Harshada Deshmukh-Jadhav defeated BJP’s Smita Jadhav in Pune, while NCP (SP) candidate Pratapsinh Patil unseated three-time MLC and NCP candidate Satish Chavan in Aurangabad.The results offered both camps victories to claim, but Nagpur’s unresolved contest kept the wider political scorecard open. In Nagpur, counting at Mankapur Divisional Sports Complex continued with leads shifting as preference votes were transferred. Wanjarri and his supporters claimed victory after he moved ahead of Kohale in subsequent rounds.Wanjarri dedicated his alleged victory to MVA partners and teachers’ organisations, saying they supported him wholeheartedly. On rebel NCP (SP) candidate Nitesh Karale’s tally of more than 24,000 votes, Wanjarri said, “Karale is like my younger brother. I will continue to raise issues faced by graduates, particularly the massive unemployment.”Wanjarri led the first round with 28,998 votes against Kohale’s 28,071, a margin of 927. Subsequent figures put Kohale ahead by 4,294 votes, with 60,924 against Wanjarri’s 56,630. Wanjarri later appeared to narrow the gap as preference votes were counted.Karale secured 14,708 first-preference votes and reached 24,249 after the second round, emerging as a major factor in the contest. More than 15,000 ballots were declared invalid, compared with 11,540 in 2020. With 38 candidates in the fray, preference transfers proved crucial. BJP was seeking to reclaim a constituency it had dominated for 58 years since Jan Sangh days, while Congress aimed to retain the seat Wanjarri won in 2020.In Amravati, Sarnaik polled 16,663 votes against Congress candidate Aditi Pohare’s 8,636, crossing the winning quota of 16,134 in a field of 26 candidates. The constituency covers five districts of Amravati division and has traditionally been represented by independents and candidates backed by teachers’ organisations.
