PUNE, January 4: Minister of State for Agriculture Harshawardhan Patil's attempts to break into Sharad Pawar's stronghold have been dashed to the ground with the humiliating defeat of his panel in the elections to the Indapur-based Chhatrapati Cooperative Sugar Factory.The minister's Shetkari Panel lost all the 23 seats to Bhavani Mata Panel led by his bete noire Ajit Pawar, nephew of Sharad Pawar, in the elections held on Thursday.
The elections could have a bearing on the Lok Sabha polls in Pawar's Baramati constituency. The minister was supported by Shiv Sena-BJP sponsored Vikas Aaghadi panel.
This was the first major election Pawar faced in his stronghold after his supporters were routed in the Malegaon sugar cooperative polls. The loss at Malegaon was perceived as a major blow to his hold over the western Maharashtra cooperatives. Patil's supporters tried to underplay the defeat by shifting the blame on to nomination strategies.
The Shetkari Panel had split on the eve of the elections with its
lieutenants Murlidhar Nimbalkar, Uttam Phadtare and Dashrath Wagh who were not fielded, joining hands with Ajit Pawar.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
