Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Tuesday won his seat in the Malegaon Cooperative Sugar Mill poll, touted as a battle of prestige to wrest power over the sugar body in Baramati, the pocket borough of Pawars.
The election, held on Sunday, included 19,549 voters in group 'A' comprising sugarcane cultivators from the region, while 102 voters were in group 'B', which consists of members from various cooperative bodies affiliated to the sugar mill, as per a poll official.
While counting was still underway for election to the 21-member board of the Malegaon Cooperative Sugar Mill, Ajit Pawar emerged as the winner in 'B' category, where he polled 91 out of 101 votes against the rival candidate who received only 10 votes, said NCP leader Kiran Gujar, who has been overseeing polls for the Ajit Pawar led Nilkantheshwar Panel.
One vote was not polled in the 'B' category.
Ajit Pawar was among the 90 candidates contesting the poll under the banner of different panels and not on party tickets, for the 21-member board of directors of the sugar mill located in Baramati.
The Nilkantheshwar panel, headed by Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Ajit Pawar, who is contesting a cooperative sugar mill election after more than four decades, currently holds power in the mill.
Besides the Nilkantheshwar panel and the Chandrarao Tawre-led Sahakar Bachav panel, the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) has entered the fray after floating the 'Baliraja Sahakar' panel, making the contest triangular.
Ajit Pawar's uncle, Sharad Pawar, is not directly in the fray.
According to party functionaries, Ajit Pawar last contested sugar mill polls in 1984 and served on the board of directors of the Chhatrapati Cooperative Sugar Mill in Baramati region.
