The voter registration for elections to four Maharashtra Legislative Council’s graduate and teacher constituencies — two each for Mumbai and Konkan divisions — which is likely to take place after the Lok Sabha polls next year has started, as per the state election commission announcement last week. The MLC elections for teacher and graduate constituencies for the two divisions are expected to take place since the terms of sitting members — Vilas Potnis of Shiv Sena (UBT) (Mumbai graduates), Kapil Patil of JD(U) (Mumbai teachers), Niranjan Davkhare of BJP (Konkan graduates) and independent MLC Kishor Darade (Nashik teachers) — will end on July 7, 2024. The voter registration, which started on September 30, will continue till November 6 and then from November 23 to December 9. The Sena (UBT) has been preparing for the MLC elections, which has a strong hold on both the regions — Mumbai and Konkan, as instructed by the president, Uddhav Thackeray, during a recent meeting, said sources. "The Shiv Sena (UBT) will contest the elections for graduate and teacher constituencies from Mumbai. The party has also geared up for voter enrollment," said a Sena (UBT) functionary. Earlier, an alliance of the Shiv Sena (undivided) and the BJP had contested the elections and won one seat each. This time, however, Sena (UBT) would contest the elections in an alliance with the Sharad Pawar-led NCP faction and the Congress.
