BDCC Bank Unopposed Poll Efforts
Belagavi
For the first time in its history, efforts are underway to ensure the Belagavi District Central Cooperative (BDCC) Bank elections go unopposed, driven by the leadership of Arabhavi MLA Balachandra Jarkiholi. Elections for 15 director posts, one from each taluk, are scheduled for October 19.
Balachandra has been holding extensive consultations with aspirants across the district to build consensus. “Our panel is set to win at least 12 seats and take control of BDCC management. We are working towards ensuring all seats go unopposed. Though in some taluks, elections may be unavoidable due to heavyweight contestants,” he said.
Notably, the Jarkiholi brothers, including District Minister Satish Jarkiholi, Gokak MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi, and Balachandra, have shown rare unity in this election, with support also coming from former MP Annasaheb Jolle and other leaders.
BDCC Bank has 853 PKPS members eligible to vote, and a recent show-of-strength meeting in Gokak saw 577 members attending, reflecting the influence of the Jarkiholi family. Balachandra is now focusing on taluks where consensus is proving difficult.
In Khanapur, MLA Vitthal Halagekar and former MLA Arvind Patil declared their candidacy. After intervention from Satish Jarkiholi and MLC Channaraj Hattiholi, Hattiholi withdrew, and both Halagekar and Hattiholi reportedly agreed to support Patil.
In Belagavi taluk, the candidature of Rahul Jarkiholi, son of Satish Jarkiholi, has been nearly finalised. Mrinal Hebbalkar eventually withdrew in Rahul’s favour, with his mother, Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar, expressing support for Rahul if he contests.
The coordinated efforts highlight the Jarkiholi brothers’ strategy to maintain dominance in BDCC Bank management while minimizing election contests.