The election battle for the Satara District Central Cooperative Bank (SDCCB) has taken a sharper turn after scrutiny of nominations brought the contentious 10-year director tenure issue to the centre of the contest.
As many as 236 nomination papers were filed by 175 candidates for 21 director posts, making the election one of the closely watched cooperative bank polls in Maharashtra.
Around 10 nominations are understood to have been rejected during scrutiny, leaving roughly 226 nominations in the fray before the withdrawal process, although the final official figure is awaited.
The major twist is that around 10 outgoing directors are understood to have completed 10 years on the board, but nine of them filed nominations and cleared scrutiny, despite objections being raised over their eligibility. The development could turn the tenure issue into a major legal and political talking point during the election.
BJP candidate Dipak Nanaware challenged the candidatures of sitting SDCCB Chairman and MP Nitin Patil and Vice-Chairman Anil Desai, arguing that regulatory provisions prevent directors who have completed 10 years from contesting again.
However, the objection against Nitin Patil was rejected by Election Officer Sanjaykumar Sudrik, allowing him to remain in the contest.
Desai’s legal team also opposed the tenure argument, maintaining that the district central cooperative bank functions under the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act and that the RBI does not have the authority to disqualify its directors. The defence cited similar instances involving the Latur and Nanded district cooperative banks, where directors who had completed 10 years were reportedly allowed to contest.
The scrutiny proceedings, which lasted around three-and-a-half hours, also saw objections against Rajendra Rajpure and Rupali Rajpure. Shiv Sena’s Sanjay More challenged their nominations, while other objections involved alleged loan defaults and cooperative society membership requirements.
Nanaware himself faced an objection over alleged defaults to cooperative banks and credit societies. NCP candidate Santosh Salunkhe also faced an objection over his society membership eligibility, which his legal team contested with supporting documents.
The developments have exposed fresh friction within the BJP, NCP and Shiv Sena, even as Mahayuti leaders continue negotiations over seat sharing. Four ministers, Shivendraraje Bhosale, Jaykumar Gore, Makarand Patil and Shambhuraj Desai, besides MPs Udayanraje Bhosale and Nitin Patil and two MLAs, are among the prominent names in the electoral fray.
Candidates can withdraw nominations until October 21, with the final list and election symbols due on October 22. Polling is scheduled for November 1, followed by counting on November 3.
