Jalgaon: Voting Today For Legislative Council Seat; BJP Confident Of First-Preference Victory For Nandkishor Mahajan

Jalgaon: Voting for the Jalgaon Local Authorities Constituency seat in the Maharashtra Legislative Council will be held on Thursday, with the district administration completing all preparations for the election. District Collector Rohan Ghuge announced at a press conference that the administration is fully prepared to conduct the polling process smoothly. Resident Deputy Collector Vaishali Chavan was also present.

A total of 630 voters will cast their votes to elect their representative to the Legislative Council. Voters will use pink ballot papers and indicate their order of preference from one to four. Polling will take place at seven centres across the district — Amalner, Faizpur, Bhusawal, Jalgaon, Erandol, Pachora and Chalisgaon.

The distribution of ballot papers and election materials was completed on Wednesday under the supervision of Resident Deputy Collector Vaishali Chavan and Deputy Collector (Election) Archana Kakade. Training of officers and staff appointed for election duty has also been completed.

Although four candidates appear on the ballot paper, the contest has effectively become a three-cornered fight. Reshma Kundan Kale of the Shinde-led Shiv Sena withdrew her candidature and extended support to the BJP nominee. However, as her withdrawal came after the prescribed deadline, her name will continue to appear on the ballot paper.

The main contest is between BJP candidate Nandkishor Mahajan, Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Sharad Tayade and Independent candidate Anil Chaudhary, a former president of the Bhusawal Municipal Council.

The BJP has run an extensive campaign in support of Mahajan. Several senior leaders, including State BJP President Ravindra Chavan, Union Minister Raksha Khadse, Water Resources Minister Girish Mahajan, MP Smita Wagh and MLA Suresh Bhole, held meetings with party workers and voters in the run-up to the election.

The election also witnessed political developments within the Mahayuti alliance. Guardian Minister Gulabrao Patil had reportedly sought the ticket for his son, but the seat was eventually allotted to the BJP. Despite initial differences, Patil later declared support for the BJP candidate.

Independent candidate Anil Chaudhary has added interest to the contest by claiming support from more than 100 voters and asserting that he enjoys the backing of influential leaders. Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Sharad Tayade has conducted a relatively low-key campaign.

With strong organisational backing and support from alliance partners, BJP leaders have expressed confidence that Nandkishor Mahajan will secure victory on first-preference votes alone. However, all eyes will be on the voting pattern and whether the result matches the BJP’s optimistic projections.