Three-cornered fight in Khandala society seat of Satara district bank election; 88 voters cast ballots

The contest for the Khandala taluka village development society constituency in the Satara District Central Cooperative Bank election has been closely fought. Polling passed off peacefully, but political circles are keenly waiting to see who wins the seat.

Ajay Bhosale of the Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar faction), Aniruddha Gadhave of the BJP and Advocate Shamrao Gadhave, as an independent, were in the fray. Though three candidates contested, the main fight was between the NCP and the BJP.

Besides winning representation in the cooperative sector, the prestige of local political leaders was also at stake. Both sides therefore made strong efforts to bring voters over to their side. A prestige battle was fought between Bhosale and Gadhave.

The political strength of Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Makarand Patil and Rural Development Minister Jaykumar Gore was also on the line in this election. Both leaders had done extensive groundwork locally to see their backed candidates win.

On polling day, political activity picked up further. Minister Makarand Patil reached Khandala at about 11.30 am with voters who had been taken on a trip. Rural Development Minister Jaykumar Gore, for his part, arrived at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Chowk with voters on his side. With leaders of both sides present, the political atmosphere in the area heated up, and there was talk of a show of strength by the NCP and the BJP.

Voting in Khandala passed off peacefully through the day. In all, 88 voters, from societies and other institutions, exercised their right to vote. Police had made tight security arrangements so that no untoward incident occurred at the polling station.

With polling complete, all three candidates and their supporters are claiming victory. However, which side the voters have backed will become clear only after the result. Khandala taluka is now watching whether Ajay Bhosale will assert his dominance, Aniruddha Gadhave will win, or independent candidate Shamrao Gadhave will spring a surprise.