Heavyweights from across partylines enter Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar DCC Bank poll fray

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The election to the 21-member board of the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar District Central Cooperative Bank (DCCB) has emerged as a high-stakes political fight, attracting candidates from across party lines, including ministers, MPs, MLAs and political families.Among the key contenders are district guardian minister and Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Shirsat, state minister Atul Save, Congress MP Kalyan Kale and five sitting MLAs from the district. The participation of relatives of senior politicians has further heightened the importance of the cooperative sector election.On the final day of nominations, Shirsat filed his papers with his daughter Harshada. Other prominent candidates include BJP MLA Anuradha Chavan, Shiv Sena MLA Vilas Bhumare, Ramesh Bornare, and Shiv Sena (UBT) MLC Ambadas Danve. Also in the fray are Sandipan Bhumare’s son, Devyani Patil Dongavkar, Suhas Sirsath, Ramrao Shelke and NCP’s Abhijit Deshmukh.Earlier, minister Save, MLA Sanjana Jadhav and BJP city president Kishor Shitole had filed their nominations. From the Shiv Sena camp, Abdul Samir, son of MLA Abdul Sattar, and Dineshsingh Pardeshi have also entered the race. Congress candidates also include Kale’s brother, former DCCB chairman Jagannath Kale.Several other aspirants include Arjun Patil and Nishant Patil (sons of Nitin Patil), Eknath Jadhav, Raju Bhumare, former chairman Arjun Gadhe, and Archana Nitin Patil.With a large number of aspirants from parties within Mahayuti, the election is expected to witness intense negotiations and possible withdrawals after scrutiny, as multiple candidates compete for limited seats.Election officials said 137 nomination forms were filed on the last day, following 10 on the second day and 67 on the third. In total, 214 nomination forms have been submitted, although several candidates have filed multiple sets of papers.Returning officer Samrit Jadhav said the final electoral picture will become clear only after scrutiny, scheduled for June 8. The list of valid candidates will be released on June 9, with withdrawals permitted between June 9 and June 23. The final list and symbol allocation will be announced on June 24.Polling is scheduled for July 4, with counting on July 5. In a notable development, MLA Vilas Bhumare is likely to be elected unopposed from the Paithan Primary Agricultural Credit Cooperative Society constituency, as no rival candidate has filed a nomination against him.