Maharashtra MLC Polls: What Are Graduates' & Teachers' Constituencies? (Explained)

Mumbai: Political climate in Maharashtra has become fierce once again as less than a month after the verdict of the big battle of Lok Sabha was out, elections for four seats in the Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC), were held on Wednesday, June 26. The result for the these constituencies namely - Mumbai Graduates, Mumbai Teachers, Konkan Graduates and Nashik Teachers constituencies- will be declared on July 1.

What are Graduates' and Teachers' constituency elections?

Several states have legislature with two houses- The assembly and the council. In such a scenario, the elections for Graduates and Teachers constituencies come in to picture.

Do all states conduct these elections?

Total six states of India have legislature with two houses- The assembly and the council. Hence, these elections are only held in the six bi-cameral states of the country. These are, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. As the name suggests, these are constituencies in which only teachers and graduates respectively are eligible to vote. The law was made with a view to enable fair voting by educated class with no influence of power, social status, etc.

Criteria explained in clause 3 of Article 171 of Indian Constitution

As per the clause, of the total number of members of the Legislative council of a State

(a) as nearly as may be, one third shall be elected by electorates consisting of members of municipalities, district boards and such other local authorities in the State as Parliament may by law specify;

(b) as nearly as may be, one twelfth shall be elected by electorates consisting of persons residing in the State who have been for at least three years graduates of any university in the territory of India or have been for at least three years in possession of qualifications prescribed by or under any law made by Parliament as equivalent to that of a graduate of any such university;

(c) as nearly as may be, one twelfth shall be elected by electorates consisting of persons who have been for at least three years engaged in teaching in such educational institutions within the State, not lower in standard than that of a secondary school, as may be prescribed by or under any law made by Parliament;

(d) as nearly as may be, one third shall be elected by the members of the Legislative Assembly of the State from amongst persons who are not members of the Assembly;

(e) the remainder shall be nominated by the Governor in accordance with the provisions of clause ( 5 )

What was the purpose of having these elections?

When the law was made in 1950, over 80 per cent of the population was uneducated. The purpose of these elections was to curb influence of money and muscle power by the candidates, and other such factors on voting. Hence the idea was to have some members of the council elected by educated voters. Whether the process is viable in today's time is now a matter of ideological argument.

Mahayuti vs MVA in Maharashtra

Maharashtra is keeping a close watch on the MLC elections for the four seats especially after the ruling alliance suffered a big loss in the Lok Sabha elections. BJP, Shiv Sena (UBT), Shiv Sena, and Shikshak Bharati which is a teachers’ association, hold one of the four seats. Extensive campaigning has been done by Chief minister Eknath Shinde and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray in support of their respective candidates fighting the Mumbai seats.

Mumbai graduates’ constituency

Shiv Sena UBT's Anil Parab fights it out with the BJP’s Kiran Shelar in this constituency. Anil Parab is currently a member of the MLC. He was elected by members of the legislative assembly in 2018, before the Shiv Sena split in 2022.