Amravati MLC poll: One seat, 27 candidates, 35,000 voters

Amravati: The stage is set for the election of one seat to the Maharashtra Legislative Council from Amravati Division Teachers’ constituency on December 1.
Around 35,000 teacher voters will decide the fate of 27 candidates in the fray by exercising their franchise at 77 polling booths across five districts of Amravati Division from 8 in the morning to 5 in the evening.
Despite the presence of Shiv Sena and BJP in the fray for the first time, the contest is expected to be multi-cornered in view of the strong candidature of candidates from different teacher organizations. Division of votes is expected due to the high number of candidates and polling is also expected to be around 60%.
Sena’s sitting MLC Prof Shrikant Deshpande seems to have an edge over his rivals due to support from the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) which saw a host of ministers actively campaigning for him. On the other hand, BJP’s Dr Nitin Dhande is banking solely on party cadres as he has no experience of teacher issues. He did not make any major announcements during campaigning.
Dhande is the president of Vidarbha Youth Welfare Society which runs engineering and dental colleges besides a host of other schools and colleges. Employees have levelled allegations of coercion against the doctor. Sandeep Meghe, former president of the society, questioned Dhande’s credentials as a teacher at the dental college and alleged that the latter did not engage in a single lecture during his tenure yet got his full salary.
Meghe further alleged that Dhande kept his party in the dark while seeking the ticket.
Sangita Shinde-Bonde of Shikshak Sangharsha Sanghatana is the only female among the 27 candidates. She is expected to make a difference in the poll outcome as she has been taking up causes of teachers since eight years.
Avinash Borde of VIJUCTA, Prakash Kalbande of Vidarbha Madhyamik Shikshak Sangh, Dilip Nimbhorkar of Lokbharti, Rajkumar Bonkile of Vidarbha Madhyamik Shikshak Parishad, Shekhar Bhoyar, Kiran Sarnaik and Dr Nilesh Gawande are the other strong candidates.
Amravati district has the highest number of voters (10,386) followed by Buldana (7484), Yavatmal (7459), Akola (6480) and Washim (3812).
Because of the Covid scenario as well as vacation, candidates faced difficulties in contacting voters who were spread far and wide across the constituency.