The Pune Graduate Constituency election and Pune Teacher Constituency election will be held on October 23 with 1,051 polling stations and about 6,900 officers and staff deployed across the Pune division, election authorities said after the withdrawal deadline.
According to divisional commissioner and returning officer Sheetal Teli-Ugle, 47 candidates remain in the contest for the Graduate Constituency and 30 candidates remain for the Teacher Constituency. The Graduate Constituency has 3,88,019 registered voters, while the Teacher Constituency has 62,000 voters.
The administration has arranged 741 polling stations for the Graduate Constituency. These centres will be established at taluka and mandal levels across the division. The Teacher Constituency will have 310 polling stations.
The final candidate numbers follow withdrawals from the two contests. For the Graduate Constituency, 75 candidates had submitted 87 nomination forms. Of these, 81 forms submitted by 69 candidates were found valid. Twenty-two candidates withdrew their nominations, leaving 47 candidates in the field. For the Teacher Constituency, 49 candidates had submitted 67 forms, of which 65 forms submitted by 48 candidates were valid. Eighteen candidates withdrew, leaving 30 candidates.
Kolhapur district has the highest number of Graduate Constituency voters, while Pune district has the highest number of Teacher Constituency voters. Authorities said most Graduate Constituency polling stations are expected to serve between 400 and 700 voters. At most Teacher Constituency polling 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. Including reserve personnel, 4,715 employees have been assigned to the Graduate Constituency election and 2,227 to the Teacher Constituency election, taking the total deployment to about 6,900 personnel. Medical staff will also be available at every polling station, the returning officer said.
The administration will require 2,158 ballot boxes, including reserve units, for the Graduate Constituency and 703 for the Teacher Constituency. Arrangements to make the ballot boxes available are under way.
Resident deputy collectors have been appointed as coordinating officers in each district. Three flying squads will operate in every district, taking the total number of squads to 15. The police and the State Excise Department have also been placed on alert as part of the election arrangements.
Teli-Ugle urged all eligible Graduate and Teacher Constituency voters in the Pune division to vote without fear on October 23. She also asked voters to record their preferences correctly and cast valid votes.
