Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister and NCP chief Ajit Pawar on Tuesday returned to sugar co-operative politics triumphantly after a gap of 39 years, as he was elected to the 21-member board of directors of Malegaon Cooperative Sugar Mill on home turf of Baramati in Pune district of western Maharashtra.
Given that the panel with Ajit Pawar is associated is taking on the panel led by rival NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar and his MP daughter Supriya Sule. Ajitdada — as Ajit Pawar is known in the state political circles 1 who was contesting a sugar body for the first time after 1984, was elected to 21-member board of directors at the Malegaon Cooperative Sugar Mill. He secured 91 of the 101 votes cast in the high-stakes election held June 22. The counting for the remaining 20 seats was going till late in the evening and the final results were expected later in the night. At the time of going to the press, the Nilkantheshwar panel — with which Ajitdada is associated — was leading the tally. In all, there are 90 candidates for 21 seats — in the board of directors of the Malegaon co-operative sugar mill. Located Pawars’ stronghold of Baramati, the Malegaon factory has more than 19,000 sugarcane-producing shareholders. It is one of the most financially sound co-operative bodies in the state.
The Malegaon sugar mill had the highest sugarcane procurement rate of `3,636 in the state last year. Of the total 19,651 voters, 19,549 belonged to Group A comprising sugarcane cultivators from the region, while 102 were from Group B representing members of various cooperatives.
Ajitdada had addressed as many as 10 election meetings. During his electioneering, he had declared that he would be the board chairman if the Nilakantheshwar panel, backed by his supporters from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), retained power in the sugar mill.