Rival NCP factions battle it out for control of sugar mill in Baramati
Maharashtra deputy CM Ajit Pawar is contesting the election to Malegaon Cooperative Sugar Mill. Sharad Pawar, not directly contesting, is in the fray through the ‘Baliraja Sahakar Bachav’ panel

Election are underway on Sunday, 22 June, for Baramati's Malegaon Cooperative Sugar Mill where Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar is contesting for the chairperson's post. Rival NCP (SP) led by Sharad Pawar has also entered the fray.
Ajit Pawar is 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. Only members of the mill are eligible to vote.
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.
Results will be declared on June 24.
Besides the Nilkantheshwar panel and the Ranjan Tawre-led Sahakar Bachav, the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) has entered the fray after floating the ‘Baliraja Sahakar Bachav’ panel, making the contest triangular. Sharad Pawar is not directly in the fray.
Ajit Pawar cast his vote on Sunday morning in Baramati and expressed hope that the people will vote for development.
"This is an election conducted through a democratic process. Voters have the right to choose their representative. It is the voters who will decide who will bring development. I am a candidate for the chairman's post. I have been working here for 35 years," Ajit Pawar told reporters after casting his vote.
On the morning of Wednesday, 18 June, supporters of the Sahakar Bachav and Baliraja panels alleged that a voter list was found inside the Pune District Central Cooperative Bank, whose chairman is Ajit Pawar.
NCP (SP) MP and Sharad Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule had demanded probe by a special investigation team (SIT) into the incident.
Asked about it, Ajit Pawar said he need not reply to anybody's random demands.
Before the 2023 split in the NCP, only one panel (Nilkantheshwar) represented the Pawar family on the board of the sugar mill.
Also Read: Maharashtra: A sweet deal on sugar mills
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