Laxman Savadi panel wins Krishna Cooperative Sugar Factory polls

A panel led by Congress MLA Laxman Savadi has won all the 14 seats of directors in the Krishna Cooperative Sugar Factory in Athani. It defeated a panel led by BJP MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi.

Neither Ramesh Jarkiholi nor Mr. Savadi contested the polls. But they campaigned intensively for their followers fielded as candidates.

The results were announced after polling and counting, on Sunday. One of the candidates won uncontested and the other 13 were elected.

The Savadi family that wields significant clout in Athani has been managing the factory for nearly three decades now.

Earlier, the local cooperative body polls saw a heated campaign.

Ramesh Jarkiholi fielded his followers the former MLAs Mahesh Kumthalli and Shahajahan Dongargaon and Congress leader Gajanan Mangsuli against Mr. Savadi’s loyalists who were in the fray.

Ramesh Jarkiholi had announced that they were entering the field to unseat the Savadis who were “holding power for too long”.

In one of his speeches, he used an abusive expletive to describe Laxman Savadi. He also announced that he did not recognise the results of the BDCC Bank elections where Mr. Savadi was elected a director. Even on polling day, there were heated exchanges between members of the two groups.