Jarkiholis, Laxmi strike deal; no contest at APMC election

Belagavi: The much-hyped Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC-Belagavi) elections on Monday billed as a ‘battle of Belagavi titans’ ended in a whimper.
The Jarkiholi brothers and KPCC Women’s Morcha president and MLA Laxmi Hebbalkar, who locked horns during the recent Primary Land Development (PLD) Bank elections, leading to a political turmoil in the state as they backed their respective loyalists, surprised everyone by striking a deal in the APMC polls.

As per the deal, Hebbalkar agreed to give-up the president post to Jarkiholis’ loyalist in lieu for the vice-president’s post for her loyalist.

As a result, Anand Krushna Patil of Kakati, a supporter of MLA Satish Jarkiholi, was elected president and Sudhir Nagesh Gadde, a supporter of Hebbalkar from Basavan Kudachi, was elected the vice-president for a 20 months.

The supporters of both camps burst crackers separately after the elections and raised slogans in support of their respective leaders.

Of the total 17 members in the APMC, 12 are Congress supporters including three government nominated members. Three members belong to BJP and the remaining two are from Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES).

Prior to the elections, Satish Jarkiholi and Laxmi Hebbalkar held a one-on-one meeting at Circuit House and announced the names of Anand Patil and Sudhir Gadde for the post of president and vice-president of the APMC respectively.

Earlier, the names of Yuvaraj Kadam and Tanaji Patil were in the forefront. A disappointed Patil stayed away from the elections.

Since BJP and MES members did not file nominations, returning officer Manjula Nayak declared the names of Patil and Gadde as elected.

Anand Patil attributed his victory to MLA Satish Jarkiholi. As declared by the Jarkiholis earlier, they supported a Maratha candidate for the president’s post and played a crucial role in his victory.

Heavy police security was arranged on the premises of APMC yard.