93.91% turnout in Sangli district bank polls; counting for six seats on Tuesday

Voting was held on Sunday for the board of directors of the Sangli District Central Co-operative Bank for the five-year term 2026 to 2031. Polling ran from 8 am to 5 pm at 12 polling stations across the district, with 2,446 eligible voters. Turnout at the end of the day was 93.91 per cent.

Fifteen of the bank's 21 seats had already been won unopposed. Thirteen candidates were in the fray for the remaining six. Voting was held for four society constituencies, Jat, Kavathe Mahankal, Tasgaon and Miraj, and for two reserved categories, Scheduled Castes and Nomadic Castes and Tribes. Counting will take place on Tuesday (the 3rd), and the result will make clear the balance of power in the bank.

Voting was slow at some stations in the morning. It picked up as the day went on, and many stations saw crowds of voters after noon. Candidates and their supporters worked to get voters in their groups to turn out.

In the Jat society constituency, MLA Gopichand Padalkar was up against Vinod Pawar. Padalkar's candidature had gone to court, but the way was cleared for the election after his nomination was held valid. In Tasgaon, former MP Sanjay Patil and former MLA Suman Patil faced each other. Suman Patil's candidature has put the prestige of MLA Rohit Patil at stake. In Kavathe Mahankal, former minister Ajitrao Ghorpade and T. V. Patil were in contest.

In the Miraj society constituency, Annasaheb Kore faced the BJP's Anil Shegunshe. MP Vishal Patil is also watching this result. In the Scheduled Castes category, K. D. Kamble, Babasaheb Madhale and Vilas Bele were in the fray. In the Nomadic Castes and Tribes category, Sambhaji Kachare, Shankar Mane and Amol Parekar contested.

Former MLA Vikramsinh Sawant and his supporters objected at a Jat polling station, alleging that the secrecy of the vote was not maintained. Voting was halted for about half an hour and then resumed. Apart from this, polling passed off peacefully at the other stations in the district.

District Deputy Registrar of Co-operative Societies Sunil Chavan served as returning officer. District Collector Dr Mainak Ghosh had imposed prohibitory orders around the polling and counting centres. Voters were checked before entering the centres. Prohibited items, including mobile phones, cameras, electronic items and pens, could not be taken inside.

With the contest tight, many leaders had moved their voters to tourist destinations before the polling so that they would not defect. On polling day they were brought directly to the stations under heavy security and sent off again after voting. Counting will begin at 8 am on Tuesday at the Shetkari Bhavan in the market yard of the Sangli Agricultural Produce Market Committee.