Maharashtra minister Ranjit Patil retains upper house seat

Maharashtra minister of state for home Ranjit Patil on Monday retained the Amravati graduates seat defeating his nearest Congress rival Sanjay Khodke. Patil polled 78051 votes, while Khodke got 34,154 votes. Biennial elections to Maharashtra Legislative Council for five Graduates and Teachers constituencies were held on February 3.

The constituencies which went to polls are Amravati, Nashik (both graduates division), Nagpur, Aurangabad and Konkan (teachers division). As many as 76 candidates are in fray for the five
seats. BJP had renominated Patil for Amravati seat. The tenure of these five seats had ended on December 5, 2016 but the election was postponed after Supreme Court directed that voter rolls in all teachers and graduates constituencies for the legislative councils be revised.