After a high-drama, election to Belgaum Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) was countermanded by the election officer on Monday.
Election officer Patgundi, who is also the tahsildar of Belgaum, was manhandled by Maharashtra Ekikarana Samiti members after the election was countermanded.
The election to the 17-member APMC had generated considerable interest as the MES had claimed the support of eight to nine members.
The JDS, the BJP and the Congress had joined hands in a bid to defeat the MES in the election. When the election process was on, one of the members defected to the MES from the three-party alliance.
However, some members from the alliance alleged that the MES had forcibly taken one from their camp. Commotion broke out at the meeting hall, as Congress leader and former APMC President Parashram Kurangi  began physically pulling  “defected member'' Arjun Maddikeri  from the MES camp. On seeing this, the MES members protested and urged the eection officer to conduct the polls in a fair manner.
Soon, MLA Manohar Kinekar of the MES barged into the venue and had a verbal duel with the opposition members. When the three-party alliance protested the entry of the MLA into the hall, the police took the legislator out of the hall.
As the situation turned tense, the election officer countermanded the elections. Enraged by the decision, some MES members manhandled the officer while he was coming out of the hall.
The officer had to be taken to a hospital in an ambulance for treatment. A case has been filed for manhandling the Tahsildar.
The members of MES staged a dharna at the APMC in protest against the countermanding of the elections.