Ahilyanagar district bank: 8 seats unopposed, polling on Nov 2 for remaining 13

Efforts to hold the Ahilyanagar District Central Cooperative Bank election unopposed, with the consent of all parties, have ultimately failed. Internal differences among the district's senior leaders, a dispute over the sharing of seats and a contest of political prestige have changed the picture.

Of the bank's 21 seats, 8 have been won unopposed. Voting for the remaining 13 seats will be held on November 2. Counting will take place on November 3 and the results will be announced. The contest has heated up the atmosphere in the district's cooperative sector.

Former MP Yashwantrao Gadakh had tried to bring leaders of all parties together so that the election could be unopposed. Meetings were also held among Ram Shinde, Guardian Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil and senior Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat. However, no consensus could be reached on the sharing of seats and the choice of candidates.

Ram Shinde announced on social media the names of four candidates from Karjat-Jamkhed who are his supporters. This caused resentment in the Vikhe-Thorat camp. Nilesh Lanke, on the other hand, has stuck to his independent political strategy, sharpening the conflict in the election further.

Those elected unopposed include Karan Sasane from Shrirampur, MLA Monica Rajale from Pathardi, Sachin Jagtap from the non-agricultural constituency, Sujay Vikhe Patil from Rahata, Vivek Kolhe from Kopargaon, Ranjit Deshmukh from Sangamner, Shankarrao Gadakh from Nevasa and Rajashri Ghule Patil from Shevgaon.

Rahul Jagtap withdrew after talks with Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. This has eased the way for Pratap Pachpute. However, because Dattatraya Pansare has kept his candidature, the picture of the contest in that constituency is not yet clear.

Alongside the political conflict, questions are also being raised about the bank's finances. The bank holds deposits of about Rs 12,000 crore. The loans extended to sugar mills in the district are said to be around Rs 2,750 crore.

There is an expectation that transparent information will be made public on how much of these loans is overdue, how much has been recovered and how much is being repaid regularly. Discussion is under way in the cooperative sector that the interests of farmers and depositors should not be neglected in the prestige battle over directorships.

The whole district is now watching the voting on November 2 for the remaining 13 seats. Whether the Vikhe-Thorat camp retains its dominance or the Shinde-Lanke camp prevails will be decided by the results on November 3.