Updated: December 4, 2020 10:07:04 pm
In this file photo, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra and Supreme Shiv Sena Uddhav Thackeray (center) is seen together with the head of the CPN, Sharad Pawar, and the President of the State Congress, Balasaheb Thorat, in a joint meeting with the MLA, in Mumbai. (Express photo)
The ruling Maharashtra Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), an alliance of the Shiv Sena, the NCP and Congress, won five of the six seats on the Maharashtra Legislative Council for which it was voted on December 1.
Elections were held for three graduate seats, two teachers seats and one local body seat in Vidhan Parishad. The significance of the result is mainly due to the fact that it is the first statewide election after the MVA came to power late last year, preventing the largest party, the BJP, from ruling the state.
It is also important because each of these seats represents voters spread over a large geographic area of the state.
Maharashtra Legislative Council
The Vidhan Parishad is the Upper House of the Maharashtra legislature. Of its 78 members, 66 are elected and 12 are nominated. Members are elected for a six-year term.
Of the 66 elected members on the Council, 30 are elected by members of the Legislative Assembly, 22 are elected by local state bodies from 21 divisions, and 7 members each are elected from among graduates and teachers of the seven revenue divisions of the state. 📣 Follow Express explained on Telegram
The constituency of graduates
Each of the members is elected from the seven revenue divisions of the state: Mumbai, Amravati, Nashik, Aurangabad, Konkan, Nagpur and Pune.
Only those who have a bachelor’s degree from a recognized university are eligible to participate in the elections, which are held once every six years.
Voters re-register before each election, and applicants must present proof of education with a bachelor’s degree to register as a voter for graduate representatives on the Legislative Council.
The elected member is expected to raise the issues of the educated class in the Upper House.
Of the seven electoral districts graduated from the Council, the BJP, the NCP, and Congress now have two members each, and the Shiv Sena has one.
The constituency of teachers
There are seven such constituencies in the state, one in each of the seven revenue divisions.
Professional teachers with the appropriate qualifications, involved in the government or the private sector, are eligible to register as voters.
The electors elect one of them to raise their issues in the Legislative Council.
From the teachers’ constituencies, the Sena, NCP, Congress, BJP, Lok Bharati (LB), the Peasant and Workers Party (PWP) of India and an independent candidate each have one seat on the Council.
© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd
.
