BJP Names Smita Jadhav, Kaustubh Gawade for Pune Graduate and Teachers MLC Seats; Nominations on Monday

Reported by Mubarak Ansari

Pune, 4th October 2026: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will field Dr Smita Jadhav from the Pune Division Graduates’ constituency and Kaustubh Gawade from the Pune Division Teachers’ constituency in the upcoming Maharashtra Legislative Council elections. Both candidates will file their nomination papers on Monday in the presence of senior party leaders.

The BJP announced the two candidates on Sunday and handed them their AB forms at the party’s state office. Polling for the Pune Division Graduates’ and Teachers’ constituencies is scheduled for October 23, with counting on October 27.

BJP state president Ravindra Chavan appealed to Mahayuti workers to work for both candidates with the approach that they themselves were contesting the election, given the limited time remaining to reach voters.

“There are only 15 days left for the elections. Every Mahayuti worker should work with the feeling that they are the candidate and make efforts to secure first-preference votes for both candidates,” Chavan said.

Chavan said party workers had been working for the past year to register graduate and teacher voters. He specifically acknowledged the efforts of Sharad Lad, Prashant Kolhe and their colleagues in the voter-registration exercise.

He said both BJP candidates have links with the education sector and are familiar with issues faced by teachers and graduates as well as educational institutions.

Smita Jadhav: ‘Nation first’ approach

After being named the BJP candidate from the Pune Division Graduates’ constituency, Dr Smita Jadhav said she would work with the principle of “nation first”.

Jadhav said she had spent around two decades working in the education sector and viewed the election as an opportunity to expand her work with young people through the political system. She described Pune as her “karmabhoomi” and said she had also worked on various social initiatives in western Maharashtra.

Calling the candidature a major responsibility, Jadhav said she would work to address the expectations of graduates while taking forward the educational vision associated with Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj, Mahatma Phule, Savitribai Phule, Karmaveer Bhaurao Patil and Maharshi Karve.

She also referred to the contribution of her grandfather Dr D. Y. Patil and father Dr P. D. Patil to the education sector.

Kaustubh Gawade thanks BJP leadership

Teachers’ constituency candidate Kaustubh Gawade thanked the BJP leadership for placing its trust in a young party worker and said he would continue working for teachers’ rights and their concerns.

Gawade said he had travelled across all five districts covered by the Pune Division Teachers’ constituency during the past two years and interacted with teachers.

Teacher Front convenor Prashant Kolhe said party workers had undertaken voter-registration work at the village level over the past one-and-a-half to two years.

Sharad Lad backs Smita Jadhav

Sharad Lad, who was among those seeking the BJP nomination from the Graduates’ constituency, welcomed the party’s decision and said he would work for Jadhav’s victory.

Lad said he had wanted to contest the election and that this would have been his fourth election-related effort in the constituency. However, he said he accepted the party’s decision and would work for Jadhav.

“Party interest is our interest. Smita Tai is like my sister. She is the BJP candidate and it is my responsibility to ensure her victory. I will work tirelessly across the Pune Graduates’ constituency,” Lad said.

Senior BJP leaders to attend nomination filing

Jadhav and Gawade will file their nomination papers on Monday in the presence of senior BJP leaders, including Union Minister Murlidhar Mohol, Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil, Pune city president Dheeraj Ghate, former MLA Jagdish Mulik and MLA Yogesh Tilekar, along with other party office-bearers and workers.

The Maharashtra Legislative Council elections are being held for five seats from the Graduates’ and Teachers’ constituencies, with the current members’ terms ending in December. The Election Commission has scheduled polling for October 23 and counting for October 27.