Ajit Pawar panel sweeps Malegaon sugar mill polls, Sharad Pawar group draws blank

Pune: A panel backed by Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Wednesday swept elections to the Malegaon Cooperative Sugar Mill in Baramati by winning all but one seats, while a group supported by the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) could not open its account.

The election, which had turned into a prestige battle between NCP chief Ajit Pawar and his estranged uncle, NCP (SP) head Sharad Pawar, was held on Sunday, and the counting of ballots started on Tuesday morning.

Ajit Pawar's Nilkantheshwar panel won 20 out of 21 seats.

Chandrarao Taware, who led the Sahakar Bachav panel, won the remining seat. The Baliraja Sahakar panel, backed by the NCP (SP), was in the third position, failing to win a single seat.

"Yesterday, Ajit Pawar won his own seat in the B group. Today 19 (other) candidates of the Nilkantheshwar panel won their respective seats in the A group. Only one seat went to the Sahakar Bachav panel as its leader Chandrarao Anna Taware won from his seat," said Kiran Gujar, a close associate of Ajit Pawar.

With the landslide victory, Ajit Pawar is set to become the chairman of the sugar mill. Pawar, during the poll campaign, had thrown his hat in the ring for the post.

There were a total of 19,549 voters in group 'A', comprising sugarcane cultivators from the region, while 102 voters were in group 'B' which consisted of members of various cooperative bodies affiliated to the sugar mill.

Ranjan Taware, one of the losing candidates of Sahakar Bachav panel, said they accepted the defeat with humility.

"It is not a humiliating defeat for us, as a person of deputy chief minister's stature had to camp in Baramati and hold 18 rallies," he said.

He also alleged misuse of power during the poll campaign.

Yugendra Pawar of the NCP (SP) said, "The defeat is disappointing, but not unexpected. Before the elections, we were in talks with the Ajit Pawar faction and expecting that he would accommodate at least three to four members from our side in his panel. But on the last day of nomination withdrawal, they announced 21 candidates, and we had to announce our panel at the last moment." They chose to contest the election though he did not expect much success, said Yugendra, the son of Ajit Pawar's younger brother.

"To boost the morale of party workers, we contested the elections, despite knowing the outcome," he said.

Talking to reporters in Baramati, Sharad Pawar took a swipe at nephew Ajit, saying he himself never contested a cooperative body election when he held constitutional posts.