The Pune division administration has completed key preparations for voting in the graduate and teachers’ constituencies across Pune, Solapur, Satara, Sangli and Kolhapur, with polling scheduled from 8 am to 4 pm on October 23. A total of 450,019 voters are eligible to participate, while private establishments have been directed to provide eligible employees four hours of paid leave to cast their ballots.
The election will be conducted at 1,051 polling centres across the five districts. Around 6,900 personnel, including reserve staff, have been appointed to manage polling operations. Election Returning Officer and Divisional Commissioner Sheetal Teli-Ugle said the administrative machinery had been prepared to conduct polling smoothly, transparently and peacefully.
The graduate constituency has 741 polling centres and 388,019 registered voters. The teachers’ constituency has 310 centres and 62,000 voters. Kolhapur has the highest number of graduate constituency voters, while Pune has the largest electorate in the teachers’ constituency.
Pune has 160 graduate constituency centres serving 88,202 voters and 72 teachers’ constituency centres serving 16,882 voters. Solapur has 117 graduate centres with 49,722 voters and 76 teachers’ centres with 15,303 voters. Satara has 93 graduate centres with 47,463 voters and 44 teachers’ centres with 9,454 voters.
Sangli has 159 graduate constituency centres and 88,070 voters, along with 48 teachers’ centres and 8,062 voters. Kolhapur has the division’s highest graduate electorate, with 212 centres and 114,562 voters. It has 70 teachers’ constituency centres serving 12,299 voters.
The administration has planned for 2,158 ballot boxes, including reserve boxes, for the graduate constituency and 703 ballot boxes for the teachers’ constituency. Polling material will be distributed from designated facilities, including the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Balewadi, Pune; the government grain warehouse in Ramwadi, Solapur; the DMO warehouse in the MIDC area of Satara; Tarun Bharat Maidan in Sangli; and the government grain warehouse at Raman Mala in Kolhapur.
After distribution at the district level, polling teams will receive the required material through tehsil and sub-divisional offices. Once voting ends, the ballot boxes will be transported under police security to the acceptance centre at Balewadi in Pune. Around 750 vehicles, including state transport buses, jeeps and tempos, have been arranged for the operation.
Polling centres are required to provide ramps, drinking water, electricity, furniture, separate toilets for women and men, shade, help desks, volunteers, queue management, crèche facilities and first-aid kits. These provisions are intended to reduce inconvenience for voters and support access at the centres.
Assistant Labour Commissioner S. T. Shirke said private establishments, companies, malls, shops and other workplaces must provide four hours of special paid leave to eligible employees so they can vote. Employers cannot deduct wages for the permitted leave period.
Counting is scheduled for October 27, and the entire election process is planned to conclude before October 31. The divisional administration has appealed to all eligible graduate and teacher voters to vote at their assigned centres, record their preferences correctly and participate in the electoral process.
