Latur, Oct 17 Maharashtra Cooperation Minister and NCP leader Babasaheb Patil has decided to remain with the Congress panel, defying the Mahayuti alliance’s plan to contest the upcoming Latur District Central Co-operative Bank election jointly.
The development comes just two days after leaders of Mahayuti, which comprises the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP, announced that the alliance would contest the district bank elections together.
A total of 139 applications were received for 19 seats as the deadline to file nominations expired on October 16.
Patil told reporters that he had been associated with the Congress panel for the past 40 years and intended to continue working with it.
“The bank is functioning well, and several decisions need to be taken in the interest of farmers. I will remain with this panel. Cooperative elections are not contested on party symbols, so political affiliations should not be an issue,” he said.
Citing examples of political leaders coming together for cooperative institutions in Ahilyanagar and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Patil said he saw no difficulty in continuing with the Congress panel.
Avinash Patil, nephew of Cooperation Minister Babasaheb Patil and son of former minister Balasaheb Jadhav, filed his nomination from the Ahmedpur society constituency on behalf of the Congress panel.
Local BJP leaders Arvind Patil Nilangekar, Rishikesh Karad, and Babu Khandade were among those who filed nominations on behalf of the Mahayuti.
Speaking to reporters, Nilangekar said the alliance was contesting the election with full strength. He said 42 nominations had been filed for the 19 seats by the Mahayuti.
The election will be held on November 15 among 999 voters. Scrutiny of nomination papers will begin on October 19, while the final list of candidates will be published on October 21. Candidates can withdraw their nominations until November 4.
Votes will be counted later in November, said election officer and resident deputy collector Keshav Netke.
(PTI News)
