New Delhi: Polling is underway for biennial elections to 28 seats in the Legislative Councils of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra and Karnataka today.
In Maharashtra, polling is being held for five seats, with 182 candidates in the fray. A total of 10,68,072 voters are eligible to exercise their franchise across 2,419 polling stations. The seats include Graduates’ constituencies in Pune, Nagpur and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, and Teachers’ constituencies in Pune and Amravati.
The ruling coalition has fielded BJP candidates in the Nagpur Graduates’, Pune Graduates’ and Pune Teachers’ constituencies, while the NCP is contesting the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Graduates’ seat and the Shiv Sena the Amravati Teachers’ seat. Among the opposition parties, the Congress is contesting the Nagpur Graduates’ and Pune Teachers’ seats, NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) has fielded candidates in the Pune and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Graduates’ constituencies, and Shiv Sena (UBT) is contesting the Amravati Teachers’ seat. Counting will take place on 27 October.
In Karnataka, polling is being held for four Legislative Council seats across 17 districts. The election is expected to be a contest between the ruling Congress and the BJP-JD(S) NDA alliance. Key contests are taking place in the Bengaluru and North-East Teachers’ constituencies, as well as the West and South-East Graduates’ constituencies. The ballot boxes will be stored securely until counting on 27 October.
In Bihar, polling is underway for eight seats, comprising four Graduates’ and four Teachers’ constituencies. More than 5.32 lakh voters will decide the electoral fate of 150 candidates. A total of 933 polling stations have been set up at the block level across the respective districts. The Graduates’ constituencies are Patna, Darbhanga, Tirhut and Kosi, while the Teachers’ constituencies are Patna, Darbhanga, Tirhut and Saran. Polling began at 8 AM and will continue until 4 PM. Counting is scheduled for 27 October.
In Uttar Pradesh, polling is being held for 11 seats, with 152 candidates in the fray. The elections cover five Graduates’ and six Teachers’ constituencies. A total of 14,81,310 electors are eligible to vote across 2,697 polling stations in 72 of the state’s 75 districts, excluding Kanpur Nagar, Kanpur Dehat and Unnao.
The ruling BJP and the Samajwadi Party have fielded candidates in all 11 constituencies. Independent and rebel candidates are also contesting some seats. Counting of votes will take place on 27 October.
[AIR News]