Nagpur: Maharashtra’s five Legislative Council seats reserved for graduates and teachers head into polls against a political landscape markedly different from 2020, when Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena were constituents of Maha Vikas Aghadi govt led by then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray.Nagpur, Pune and Aurangabad graduates’ constituencies and Amravati and Pune teachers’ constituencies will vote on Oct 23, with counting on Oct 27.The change is most evident in the alliances. MVA was formed after the 2019 Assembly election, bringing together Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP. The arrangement ended in June 2022 after a Shiv Sena faction led by Eknath Shinde allied with BJP. In July 2023, Ajit Pawar and a group of NCP legislators joined the BJP-Shiv Sena govt.The change is most evident in the alliances. MVA was formed after the 2019 Assembly election, bringing together Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP. The arrangement ended in June 2022 after Shinde led a rebellion in Shiv Sena and joined BJP. In July 2023, Ajit Pawar and a group of NCP legislators joined the BJP-Shiv Sena govt. The two splits have since redrawn the organisational map through which the parties approach elections.For the Council polls, however, the broader alliance structure is only one factor. Graduate and teachers’ constituencies have specialised electorates, making voter registration, candidate selection, local networks and sustained outreach important to individual contests.Former MLC Anil Sole, who represented the Nagpur graduates’ constituency, said he has staked his claim for the seat this time. “It is up to the party seniors to decide. We have an advantage as Shiv Sena led by Shinde and NCP led by Sunetra Pawar are also with us this time,” Sole told TOI.Congress’ Baban Taywade, who previously contested from the graduates’ constituency against Union minister Nitin Gadkari, said BJP could derive some benefit from being in office but argued that the candidate and voter-registration figures would be crucial.“Congress is also at an advantage as it had declared incumbent Abhijit Wanjarri’s name a year ago. On the other hand, BJP is yet to declare the candidate and former public representatives are contesting for the seat. The picture would be clear only after both parties officially declare their names and the actual number of voters is known,” he told TOI.In 2020, Congress candidate Wanjarri defeated BJP’s former mayor Sandip Joshi by 18,910 votes, polling 61,701 votes against Joshi’s 42,791. The result ended BJP and its predecessor Jana Sangh’s 58-year hold over the constituency.The constituency had earlier been represented by Gadkari and Gangadharrao Fadnavis, father of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.The organisational equations have now changed with the alliances. In 2020, Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena governed together. In 2026, BJP leads the state govt with the Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Sunetra Pawar-led NCP.For the opposition, the challenge is similarly different from 2020: Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) are no longer operating from the common governing platform they shared during the previous Council election.The five contests will therefore bring the political changes of the past six years into constituencies with distinct electorates, where candidate selection, voter registration and local organisation can shape campaigns. The picture will become clearer as nominations are filed and the parties finalise their candidates.#MAHARASHTRA LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ELECTION 2026DATE——ELECTION PROCESSSept 29—— Nomination process beginsOct 6—— Last date for filing nominationsOct 7—— Scrutiny of nominationsOct 9—— Last date for withdrawalOct 23—— Polling dayOct 27—— Counting of votesOct 31—— Election process must be completedMLCs WHOSE TERMS WILL END ON DEC 6Abhijit Wanjarri — Nagpur Division Graduates’ ConstituencyKiran Sarnaik — Amravati Division Teachers’ ConstituencySatish Chavan — Aurangabad Division Graduates’ ConstituencyArun Lad — Pune Division Graduates’ ConstituencyJayant Aasgavkar — Pune Division Teachers’ Constituency
