Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced that it will field its own candidate for the upcoming election of the Maharashtra Legislative Council's teachers' constituency of Konkan division.
The term of five MLCs, including two from graduates' and three from teachers' constituencies, will end on February 7, and elections for the same will be held on January 30.
Speaking to reporters here, the BJP's state unit president Chandrashekhar Bawankule said, Dnyaneshwar Mhatre will be the BJP's official candidate in Konkan teachers' constituency. The BJP will give him the AB form required at the time of nomination.
The Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government will finalise its candidates for the polls by the evening of January 11, he said. This is for the first time that the BJP has nominated its own candidate to contest the teachers' constituency election for Konkan division, the party's chief spokesperson Keshav Upadhye said.Earlier, we used to support Shikshan Parishad, an organisation of teachers. It used to field its own candidates. This time, we have decided to field our own candidate, Upadhye said.
Mhatre's candidature has been finalised by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, he said, expressing confidence that the party will win the polls.
Incumbent Balaram Patil was representing the seat earlier and the BJP had supported him. There are only seven seats in the upper house, where teachers cast their vote and send their representatives to the Maharashtra Legislative Council. According to officials, there are more than 37,000 eligible voters in the Konkan division, comprising Palghar, Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts.
The last date for filing nominations form is January 12 and they will be scrutinised the next day. The last date of withdrawal is January 16. Voting will take place on January 30 and counting on February 2.