The elections to the 16 District Central Cooperative Banks in Maharashtra have proved that all is yet not over for the cooperative doyen Sharad Pawar. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has swept the polls in five districts — Pune, Satara, Ratnagiri, Sangli and Kolhapur where as in some other districts it has compelled other parties to share power with it.
The ruling BJP-Shiv Sena alliance has failed to dent NCP president Sharad Pawar’s control over the cooperative sector in Maharashtra. The recent polls to District Central Cooperative (DCC) banks have amply shown it.
Commentators say the NCP with its impressive victory in the cooperative polls is likely to continue with influence in controlling the DCC banks that provide grass roots cooperative societies with finance. This is bound to shore up NCP strongman Sharad Pawar’s waning political fortunes in the days ahead , add commentators.
Significantly, several NCP stalwarts have triumphed in the elections and shown their ability to defeat their opponents hands down.
Sources say Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar had stopped at nothing to get their men elected as any setback in the DCC bank polls would have put paid to their politics in the rural belt.