Biennial polls for 5 Maharashtra Council seats likely in Feb

The biennial elections for five seats of Maharashtra Legislative Council from teachers and graduates constituencies is likely to be held in February.
The term of sitting members, one of them a minister, from these seats, where teachers and graduates form the electoral college, ends on December 5. The seats falling vacant are Nashik, Amravati (both graduates) and Nagpur, Konkan and Aurangabad (all teachers).
The voter enrolment is currently underway and the final roll will be published on December 30, an official in the State Electoral Office said today.
So far 4,48,106 voters have enrolled for the ensuing biennial polls which are likely to be held in February, he said.

Minister of State for Home Ranjit Patil of BJP is the sitting MLC from Amravati (graduates). Congress holds Nashik graduates, NCP Aurangabad teachers, while Independents represent Nagpur and Konkan teachers constituencies.
Vikram Kale (NCP) is the sitting MLC from Aurangabad, while Nashik seat is held by Sudhir Tambe (Congress).

Congress has re-nominated Tambe from Nashik and fielded Sanjay Khodke from Amravati.
The official said Patil will cease to be a legislator from December 5 and he has to be elected within a period of six months to retain his position in the Council of Ministers.
In Nashik, 2,08,250 voters have enrolled till now, while the figure for Amravati is 1,58,572. Voter registration figures in the other seats are: Nagpur (39,850), Konkan (30103) and Aurangabad (11,331).

In January this year, the Supreme Court had directed all State Election Commissioners to prepare electoral rolls of teachers and graduates constituencies afresh. The top court also said photographs of voters must be pasted on electoral rolls.
Application for registration should be submitted by teachers or graduates, as the case may be, personally, it had said.