236 applications for 21 Satara district bank seats; four ministers in the fray

The Satara District Central Co-operative Bank election is no longer confined to the co-operative sector. It has become a major political contest that will set the direction of political dominance in the district. The BJP, the Nationalist Congress Party and the Shiv Sena have decided to fight together through the Mahayuti. Even so, as many as 236 applications have been filed for 21 director posts, suggesting a serious tussle within the Mahayuti itself.

Ministers Shivendrasinhraje Bhosale and Makarand Patil have long been important faces in the district bank's politics. For them, the election is not a fresh entry but a fight to consolidate their existing influence. Meanwhile, political circles say Guardian Minister Shambhuraj Desai and Rural Development Minister Jaykumar Gore did not get the place they expected in the bank's politics, and that they want to show their separate strength in its power politics. The Mahayuti's strategy meeting was recorded as having been attended by neither Desai nor Gore. Against this background, the question of whom the BJP's "oblique move" will favour is being discussed in the district's political circles.

MP Udayanraje Bhosale, former Council Chairman Ramraje Naik-Nimbalkar, and Ministers Makarand Patil and Shivendrasinhraje Bhosale are expected to be the main players in the bank's power equations. It was reported earlier that Udayanraje's supporters hold about 250 resolutions. It has also been reported that Shivendrasinhraje, Makarand Patil, Nitin Patil and Ramraje Naik-Nimbalkar command large voter strength. The strength and expectations of each group will therefore be a key issue during seat-sharing. The question of whom to take along to strengthen one's arithmetic will matter more than who is with whom.

It has long been said in Satara's political circles that many Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders have close ties with Mahayuti leaders through co-operative sugar mills, co-operative institutions and other businesses. The tradition of keeping business and politics apart and taking a different public stand is not new in Maharashtra's co-operative politics. Political observers are therefore watching how much the politics visible in the election differs from the equations behind the scenes. Which group openly opposes whom, and whose help benefits whom in the actual vote arithmetic, may become clearer after withdrawals.

The election has brought to the fore the question of who will hold the centre of political and co-operative power after the senior leadership that influenced Satara's co-operative politics for many years. In earlier elections, equations in co-operative institutions, sugar mills, the Zilla Parishad and local self-government bodies have affected one another. The district bank election is therefore being seen as a dress rehearsal for the next political leadership.

The sugar industry will be a crucial factor in all this. Co-operative institutions linked to mills such as Sahyadri, Krishna and Kisanveer, cane growers and local political equations can affect the bank's politics. A large gap in cane prices could directly affect the mills' crushing and farmers' finances. In the co-operative sector, it is said that if the price gap reaches about Rs 100, some mills may be left wondering whether they can keep running. Every group will therefore have to consider which partner would keep the sugar industry's arithmetic in its favour.

After the Zilla Parishad president's election, questions were raised about coordination among the Mahayuti partners. Against that background, the three parties decided to come together for the district bank election. However, there is still considerable curiosity over seat-sharing and candidacies. Political circles are asking whether the "trailer" seen in the Zilla Parishad will become the full film in the district bank. The 236 applications for 21 seats have already heated up the contest. Scrutiny on October 5 and the withdrawals that follow will be the real turning point.

The bank's next verdict depends on whether the Mahayuti stays united or internal political ambitions prevail, whether the BJP increases its strength in the co-operative sector or the NCP's traditional influence endures, whether the Shiv Sena carves out its own space, and what role Udayanraje, Ramraje, Shivendrasinhraje and Makarand Patil take. With the co-operative stronghold, sugar mill arithmetic and the battle for political dominance converging, the election is likely to be the most closely watched contest in Satara politics.