All 21 seats at Karmayogi sugar factory elected unopposed; Harshvardhan Patil among directors

The five-yearly election of the Karmayogi Shankarraoji Patil Cooperative Sugar Factory at Mahatma Phulenagar-Bijwadi in Indapur taluka was held unopposed on Wednesday (November 4). The election, for the 2021-2031 term, was conducted under the guidance of Harshvardhan Patil, president of the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories, New Delhi, and chairman of the factory.

Wednesday was the last day for withdrawing nomination papers. On that day, 21 applications remained for 21 seats. Returning officer Dr Yashwant Mane then declared the selection unopposed. Those elected unopposed include Harshvardhan Patil and Rajvardhan Patil, along with other prominent figures.

The candidates elected unopposed are: Harshvardhan Patil, Rajvardhan Patil, Rakesh Rameshprasad Shukla, Ravindra Waman Sarade, Shantilal Dattatraya Shinde, Chhagan Dhodiba Bhongale, Nilesh Shamrao Devkar, Rajendrakumar Prataprao Devkar, Santosh Laxman Kale, Shrikant Khivrao Devkar, Vijay Vitthal Kharche, Parag Rameshrao Jadhav, Ranjit Namdev Nikam, Rohit Rajendra Gaikwad, Bibhishan Kalyan Nalawade, Atul Shivaji Shigade, Vasant Khandu Moholkar, Harishchandra Sadashiv Parekar, Ratnamala Sampat Pawar, Suman Narayan Vyavahare and Amol Subhash Jadhav.

Harshvardhan Patil said that many people had cooperated in making the election unopposed, against the backdrop of drought conditions. He thanked Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar, Agriculture Minister Dattatray Bharne, MP Supriya Sule, Parth Pawar, Zilla Parishad president Veerdhaval Jagdale, district bank directors Appasaheb Jagdale, Pradeep Garatkar and Praveen Mane, and leaders, office-bearers, workers and members of all parties.

Although the election was unopposed, questions raised about the process behind the selection remain. There have been allegations that pressure was applied to make candidates withdraw their nominations. An objection has also been raised that nominations were withdrawn after the deadline. The explanation given by returning officer Yashwant Mane is also being discussed. The transparency of the election process has therefore become a focus of debate.

At a press conference, Sharad Chitare raised a serious objection over two alleged caste certificates of Amol Subhash Jadhav. The certificates are said to be in the OBC and Scheduled Caste categories. Chitare has claimed that a public interest litigation has been filed in the Bombay High Court in this matter. He has also demanded that the election be stayed and a fresh election held.

Meanwhile, the responsibility for running the factory currently rests with Baburao Botre-Patil. In this situation, how much authority the new board will have is also an important question. The Karmayogi factory, once well known in the state, has still not begun operating at full capacity. Expectations among members, cane-growing farmers and workers have therefore risen.