Padalkar, Ghorpade and Sanjaykaka Patil win Sangli district bank seats; Suman Patil loses in Tasgaon

The results of the election to six seats of the Sangli District Central Cooperative Bank were declared on Tuesday. MLA Gopichand Padalkar, former minister Ajitrao Ghorpade and former MP Sanjaykaka Patil won. In Tasgaon, Sanjaykaka Patil defeated Suman Patil, a setback for the camp of MLA Rohit Patil.

Voting for the six seats was held on Sunday. Of 2,446 voters, 2,297 cast their votes, a turnout of 93.91 per cent, and the whole district was watching for the result. Counting began on Tuesday morning at the Shetkari Bhavan of the Agricultural Produce Market Committee in Miraj.

Eight tables were set up for the count and 25 staff were deployed. Ballot papers were first bundled in lots of 25, and actual counting began only after all ballot papers had been accounted for. Four tables counted the four talukas in the society constituency, two counted the Scheduled Castes constituency, and the remaining two counted the Vimukta Jati and Nomadic Tribes constituency.

The contest in the Jat society constituency drew the most attention. There, MLA Gopichand Padalkar got 54 votes and Vinod Pawar got 34, so Padalkar won by 20 votes. In the Kavathe Mahankal society constituency, former minister Ajitrao Ghorpade got 37 votes and Tanaji Patil got 33. Ghorpade won by just four votes.

In the Tasgaon society constituency, former MP Sanjaykaka Patil got 40 votes and Sumantai Patil got 38. The margin was only two votes. The result is a setback for MLA Rohit Patil's camp. The contest was among the most discussed in the district bank election. In the Miraj society constituency, Annasaheb Kore defeated Anil Shegunshe. Kore got 47 votes and Shegunshe 19, so Kore won by 28 votes.

In the Scheduled Castes constituency, Congress's Krushna Dhondi Kamble won with 1,914 votes. Vilas Pandurang Bele got 176 and Babasaheb Madhale got 112. In the Vimukta Jati, Nomadic Tribes and Special Backward Class constituency, Sambhaji Baburao Kachare of the NCP won with 1,974 votes. Amit Shankar Parekar got 189 and Shankar Mane got 46.

On party strength, some seats had been won unopposed before the election. Even so, the Maha Vikas Aghadi failed to win 3 of the 6 seats. The Congress won 4 seats unopposed and 2 in the election, making it the largest party. The BJP has 5 seats: 4 unopposed and Gopichand Padalkar's win. The NCP (Sharad Pawar) has four seats, three unopposed and one won in the election, while the Ajit Pawar party got three seats unopposed. Curiosity is now building over who will control the bank.

Supporters of candidates crowded the market committee premises during the count. As the trend became clear, the mood turned festive, and when the results were declared, supporters of the winning candidates celebrated by showering gulal. Padalkar's supporters had arranged to scatter gulal with a JCB at Mission Hospital Chowk. A crane had also been put up to garland the winners.

The results at a glance: Gopichand Padalkar 54 votes in Jat, Ajitrao Ghorpade 37 in Kavathe Mahankal, Sanjaykaka Patil 40 in Tasgaon, Annasaheb Kore 47 in Miraj, Krushna Kamble 1,914 in the Scheduled Castes constituency and Sambhaji Kachare 1,974 in the Vimukta Jati constituency.