Satara district bank polls: 7 seats set to go unopposed, contests on remaining 14

Political activity picked up in the final round of nomination withdrawals for the Satara District Central Cooperative Bank election. After the withdrawals, the way has opened for seven seats to be filled unopposed. The remaining 14 seats will see two-way and three-way contests.

It is being said that the BJP, the Nationalist Congress Party and the Shiv Sena agreed on a formula of five seats each. Political circles are discussing that this understanding was used to try to get as many seats as possible decided unopposed. Even so, consensus could not be reached in all constituencies. In some places candidates did not withdraw, so direct contests are now certain.

In this election, the Supreme Court upheld the High Court's ruling on directors who have completed ten years, which brought major changes. Some prominent leaders withdrew, including MP Udayanraje Bhosale, Public Works Minister Shivendrasinhraje Bhosale, former Legislative Council chairman Ramraje Naik-Nimbalkar and MP Nitin Patil. This affected the selection of candidates, and new leadership has got a chance in some constituencies. Although the senior leaders have stepped out of the contest, their factions and supporters will remain important. The results will show how much support each candidate gets in their absence.

Among the seven seats where the way has been cleared, Sarjerao Sawant is set to be elected from the Satara society constituency, Satyajeet Veer from the Wai society constituency, Makrand Patil from the agricultural marketing and agricultural produce processing constituency, and Nandkumar alias Nanaso More from the Khatav society constituency. Atul Bhosale from the agricultural producers and processing cooperative societies constituency, Ranjitsinh Naik-Nimbalkar from the urban banks and credit societies constituency, and Somnath alias Kaka Dhumal from the housing cooperative societies and dairy societies constituency are also on course to be elected unopposed.

Among the remaining 14 seats, Udaysinh Undalkar and Dhananjay Patil are contesting in Karad. In Patan, Guardian Minister Shambhuraj Desai faces a challenge from Satyajeet Patankar. In Phaltan, Sanjeevraje Naik-Nimbalkar and Samshervh Naik-Nimbalkar are pitted against each other. In Mahabaleshwar, Sanjay More faces Rupali Rajpure. In Javali, Dnyandev Ranjane and Vitthal Gole are in a contest, while in the Khandala constituency there will be a three-way fight among Shamrao Gadhave, Sanjeev Gadhave and Ajay Bhosale.

There are contests in the reserved constituencies as well. On the seat reserved for women, Rutuja Rajesh Patil and Mangal Chandrakant Patil are fighting. In the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes category, four candidates are in the fray, so there will be a four-way contest. In the Other Backward Classes category, Yogesh Phadtare and Sandeep Panchanganeh are facing each other. In the Vimukta Jati, Nomadic Tribes and Special Backward Class category, Sunil Wagh and Arjun Kale are in contention. In the industrial, weavers and labour cooperative societies constituency, Sunil Wagh and Chandrakant Jadhav are contesting, and in the Koregaon Vikas Seva Society constituency, Sunil Khatri and Sunil Mane are facing each other.

Although the five-seat formula was an attempt at political understanding, the real contests in the constituencies could take a different course. Who will fill the vacuum left by the withdrawal of the veterans, and who will win outside the unopposed seats, now rests on the voters' verdict.