Kolhapur: The election for the Solapur MLC seat witnessed an extraordinary voter turnout of 99.68%, with 614 out of 616 eligible voters casting their ballots. Similarly, the Satara-Sangli MLC seat recorded a turnout of 99.89%, as 894 out of 895 voters exercised their franchise at designated polling booths. The counting of votes and declaration of results are scheduled for June 22.
Medical and Security Arrangements
A team of doctors was deployed at each of the 12 polling booths for the Satara-Sangli constituency and six polling booths for Solapur to ensure medical assistance. Voters were required to present a valid identity card displaying the name of the local body, voter registration number, and photo. Officials from the respective local bodies remained stationed until the end of polling at 4 PM to verify voter identities.
Political Contest
The elections feature a direct one-on-one contest between the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction) and the Bharatiya Janata Party in both seats. The MLC elections had been delayed for years due to an insufficient number of functioning local bodies. Councilors and members of local bodies are eligible to vote and elect their representative to the legislative council. Local body elections were held a few months ago, with the BJP, NCP, and Shiv Sena winning most seats, except in Sangli district where the Maha Vikas Aghadi performed well. The BJP is confident of winning the Solapur seat, and the party received assurance from Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde that all his party councilors will vote for the BJP candidate in Satara-Sangli, Dhairyashil Kadam.
Security Measures
The BJP had taken its councilors from Satara-Sangli to undisclosed locations, and they returned after voting started at 8 AM. Local Mahayuti leaders welcomed them. In contrast, no MVA leaders were visible on the ground. In Solapur, BJP corporator Shalan Shankar Shinde, currently in jail for her alleged role in the murder of a Maharashtra Navnirman Sena office-bearer during municipal corporation elections, arrived at the polling booth in a police van under guard. She had won the corporation election while in custody.
Monitoring and Supervision
Solapur District Collector S. Karthikeyan monitored the polling process through CCTV cameras installed at the booths. In Satara-Sangli, district collectors and the superintendent of police visited the polling stations to oversee the proceedings.
