The Pune Graduate Constituency Election and Pune Teacher Constituency election will be conducted across 1,051 polling stations on 23 October, with around 6,900 officials and staff deployed for the exercise, Pune Divisional Commissioner and election decision officer Sheetal Teli-Ugle said.
The Graduate Constituency has 47 candidates remaining in the contest after the withdrawal deadline, while 30 candidates remain in the Teacher Constituency. The two constituencies together have 450,019 registered voters, including 388,019 graduate voters and 62,000 teacher voters, according to the election administration.
Of the total polling stations, 741 have been arranged for the Graduate Constituency and 310 for the Teacher Constituency. These stations will be established at taluka and mandal-level locations across Pune division. Kolhapur district has the highest number of graduate voters, while Pune district has the highest number of teacher voters.
The election authorities said most Graduate Constituency polling stations are expected to serve between 400 and 700 voters. At most Teacher Constituency stations, the number of voters is expected to remain below 200. Each polling station will have a presiding officer, three polling officers and one support staff member. Medical personnel will also be available at every polling station, Teli-Ugle said.
For the Graduate Constituency, 4,715 employees have been appointed, including reserve personnel. The Teacher Constituency will have 2,227 employees, also including reserve staff. Together, the deployment is expected to total approximately 6,900 officials and workers.
The election administration is also arranging 2,158 ballot boxes for the Graduate Constituency and 703 ballot boxes for the Teacher Constituency, including reserve units. The process of making the ballot boxes available was under way, the divisional commissioner said.
The candidate numbers were finalised after scrutiny and withdrawals. For the Graduate Constituency, 75 candidates had submitted 87 nomination forms. Of these, 81 forms submitted by 69 candidates were found valid, and 22 candidates withdrew their nominations. For the Teacher Constituency, 49 candidates submitted 67 forms. The authorities found 65 forms submitted by 48 candidates valid, after which 18 candidates withdrew, leaving 30 contestants.
Resident deputy collectors have been appointed as coordinating officers in each district. Three flying squads will operate in every district, making 15 squads in total. The police and the state excise department have also been placed on alert as part of the election arrangements.
Teli-Ugle urged eligible graduate and teacher voters across Pune division to vote without fear on 23 October and to cast valid ballots by recording their preference order. The administration’s instructions underline the operational complexity of elections involving separate voter groups, multiple districts and preferential voting procedures.
