Satara DCC Bank polls: Sunil Mane wins Koregaon seat by 'Ishwar chitthi' after tie and torn slip

The election to the 21 seats of the Satara District Central Co-operative Bank has concluded. Candidates had been elected unopposed on nine of the seats. Results for the remaining 12 seats have now been declared. The BJP won nine seats, the NCP eight and the Shiv Sena four, so the BJP remained dominant in the election. The whole state was watching the contest, and the results came with a twist.

The twist came in the Koregaon taluka society constituency. The NCP's Sunil Mane and the BJP's Sunil Khatri each received 44 votes, leaving the contest tied. Lots were to be drawn to decide it, but one of the slips turned out to be torn and was declared invalid. It was then decided to draw an "Ishwar chitthi", a draw of lots by chit.

All eyes were on which of the two Sunils would win. When the chit was drawn, hearts beat faster. In the end, when the chit was opened, Sunil Mane was declared the winner. NCP workers and office-bearers then celebrated heavily. The win is the talk of the entire district.

Elsewhere, in a closely fought contest, Satara guardian minister Shambhuraj Desai won. He defeated his traditional rival, the BJP leader Satyajitsinh Patankar. As news of Desai's win came in, celebrations began in Satara, and workers marked the occasion by throwing gulal.

The results by society constituency are as follows. In Javali, the BJP's Dnyaneshwar Ranjane won with 38 votes, while the NCP's Vitthal Gole got 8. In Khandala, the NCP's Ajay Bhosale won with 28 votes. The BJP's Sanjeev Gadhave got 21 votes and independent Shamrao Gadhave got none.

In Mahabaleshwar, the NCP's Rupali Rajepure won with 8 votes, while the Shiv Sena's Sanjay More got 4. In Patan, the Shiv Sena's Shambhuraj Desai won with 58 votes. The BJP's Satyajit Patankar got 46. In Man, the BJP's Jaykumar Gore won with 53 votes. The NCP's Manoj Pol got 14 and the Shiv Sena's Shekhar Gore got 7.