Mahayuti vs MVA: Counting under way for five Maharashtra Legislative Council seats

Counting of votes was underway on Tuesday (October 27, 2026) for polls to five seats in the Maharashtra Legislative Council, with the ruling Mahayuti alliance squaring off against the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).

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Polling for the Pune Graduates', Nagpur Graduates', Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad) Graduates', Pune Teachers' and Amravati Teachers' constituencies took place on October 23, recording a voter turnout of 72.96%, as per officials.

The polls were necessitated because the term of the sitting members of these constituencies ends on December 6.

The Mahayuti, comprising the BJP, Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena and Sunetra Pawar-led NCP, and the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance of the Congress, Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) and Uddhav Thackeray-headed Shiv Sena (UBT) contested all five seats.

As many as 182 candidates contested the polls, with both Mahayuti and MVA having been hit by rebellion.

The BJP fielded candidates for the Nagpur Graduates', Pune Teachers' and Pune Graduates' seats. The Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Graduates' seat was contested by the NCP, while Shiv Sena contested the Amravati Teachers' seat.

The Sena also supported an independent contestant in Pune Teachers' constituency against the official BJP candidate.

In the Amravati Teachers’ constituency, sitting MLC Kiran Sarnaik contested on a Shiv Sena ticket against Congress candidate Aditi Pohare. The Shiv Sena (UBT) also fielded a candidate.

In the Pune Graduates’ constituency, the BJP fielded Smita Jadhav against NCP (SP) candidate Harshada Deshmukh, while Shiv Sena (UBT) also fielded a candidate.

In the Pune Teachers’ constituency, the BJP fielded Kaustubh Gawde against sitting MLC Jayant Asgaonkar of the Congress. The Shiv Sena backed independent candidate Sachin Sanap, an officer on special duty (OSD) to State Minister Uday Samant.

The Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Graduates’ constituency witnessed a contest between sitting NCP MLC Satish Chavan and NCP (SP) candidate Pratapsinh Patil. Shiv Sena (UBT) also fielded a candidate.

In the Nagpur Graduates' constituency, sitting MLC Abhijit Wanjari was pitted against BJP nominee Sudhakar Kohale. BJP rebel Anil Sole withdrew from the contest and extended support to Kohale, though his name remained on the ballot, officials earlier said.

In the 78-member Legislative Council, the BJP is the largest party with 35 members, followed by the Shiv Sena with 12 and the NCP with 10. Among the opposition parties, the Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) have five MLCs each, while the NCP (SP) has two. The House also has four independent MLCs.