Maharashtra MLC polls: Congress declares candidate from Konkan Graduates' constituency

The Congress on Wednesday announced Ramesh Keer as its candidate from the Konkan Graduates' constituency in Maharashtra for the legislative council elections scheduled on June 26. The biennial elections to four state legislative council seats- Mumbai Graduates, Konkan Graduates, Mumbai Teachers and Nashik Teachers - became necessary as the terms of sitting members are expiring in July.

Keer will be the Congress candidate from Mumbai Graduates' constituency, a party statement said.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) led by Uddhav Thackeray has fielded Anil Parab and J M Abhyankar for the Mumbai Graduates' and Mumbai Teachers' constituencies, respectively.


The Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has fielded Abhijit Panse from the Konkan Graduates' constituency, from where the BJP has renominated Niranjan Davkhare

The Shiv Sena has fielded Deepak Sawant from the Mumbai Graduates' constituency while the BJP has fielded Kiran Shelar.

The BJP is backing Shivnath Darade, the candidate of Maharashtra Rajya Shikshak Parishad, for the Mumbai Teachers' constituency.

The deadline for filing nominations is June 7. Voting will be held on June 26 and results will be declared on July 1.

The Maharashtra legislative council is a 78-member house.

The Mumbai Teachers, Mumbai Graduates and Nashik Teachers constituencies are currently represented by Kapil Patil of the JD(U), Vilas Potnis of the Shiv Sena (UBT)) and independent MLC Kishore Darade, respectively.

Out of 78 seats in the legislative council, the Shiv Sena (undivided) has 11 members, NCP (undivided) 9, Congress 8, and BJP 22. The JD (U), Peasants and Workers Party, and Rashtriya Samaj Paksha have one member each, while four are Independents and 21 seats are vacant.

The vacant seats include 12 members to be nominated by the Governor and nine selected through local body representatives.

Notably, most of the MLCs from the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party have switched sides to the camps led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, respectively, after the split in these parties.