Latur, Oct 21 Maharashtra Cooperation Minister and NCP leader Babasaheb Patil has accused BJP MLA Sambhaji Patil Nilangekar of being responsible for weakening the Mahayuti alliance in the previous local body elections in Latur district.
The political exchange stemmed from Patil’s decision to align with the Congress in the upcoming Latur District Central Co-operative Bank elections, triggering a political row.
Nilangekar had criticised the minister for joining hands with the Congress and questioned his political loyalty.
“Nilangekar had contributed to the alliance’s setbacks in the municipal corporation and zilla parishad elections,” Patil said.
He also alleged that Nilangekar was interested in having an administrator appointed to the district bank.
Defending his decision to support the Congress, Patil said bank elections should not be viewed through the lens of party politics.
“The bank has been functioning well under Congress leadership for around 40 years. Those who have done good work should be supported,” he added.
Patil also claimed that the Mahayuti alliance had not contested district co-operative bank elections as a united front elsewhere in Maharashtra, with leaders of different parties coming together instead.
In a related development, Congress leader and sitting Latur District Central Co-operative Bank chairman Dhiraj Deshmukh is set to be elected unopposed to the bank’s board of directors after his nomination emerged as the only valid candidature in his constituency, dealing an early setback to the already divided Mahayuti alliance ahead of the elections.
The scrutiny of nomination papers has been completed, and the list of valid candidates has been published, officials said.
(PTI News)
