Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar District Central Cooperative Bank elections: Abdul Sattar alleges foul play after son’s nomination gets rejected

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Rejection of the nominations of Abdul Sameer Sattar, son of Sena MLA and former minister Abdul Sattar, and MLA Sanjana Jadhav in the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar District Central Cooperative Bank elections has sparked a political controversy.

Abdul Sattar is now alleging that his son's candidature was rejected on a minor technical ground and hinting at possible political motives behind the move. Jadhav is daughter of former five time BJP MP Raosaheb Danve.

Speaking to the reporters after the scrutiny process, Sattar, who is an MLA from Sillod, expressed strong displeasure over the decision and said he would discuss the issue with chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and deputy CM Eknath Shinde.

Sattar said the administration’s objection pertained to a premises that was proposed to be used for management purposes and had allegedly been rented out. “According to the administration, the place from where we were to manage the affairs has been rented out. But under Rule 58, these conditions do not apply to us as we are not members. The nomination has been rejected on a very trivial issue,” Sattar said.

He added that it was too early to conclude whether politics played a role in the rejection, but said current circumstances had raised questions. “At this stage, it cannot be said what politics is behind this decision. We will meet Fadnavis and Shinde to discuss the matter with them,” he said.

Expressing confidence in Fadnavis, Sattar said the chief minister was well aware of the legal provisions governing such matters and would ensure justice. “Devendraji is a lawyer and knows all the rules. We expect that he will ensure appropriate justice,” he said.

The scrutiny process also dealt a setback to another prominent political family. The nomination of Jadhav, daughter of a senior BJP leader and former Union minister , was also declared invalid. Shiv Sena leaders have alleged that both nominations were rejected by citing minor discrepancies in the applications.

Political observers believe the development could potentially create friction between sections of the BJP and the Shiv Sena, particularly as both rejected candidates belong to influential political families.

The election for the district cooperative bank was announced on June 1, with polling scheduled for July 8. The process of sale and acceptance of nomination forms commenced immediately after the announcement. A total of 214 nominations for directors' posts were filed till Friday, including those submitted by relatives of ministers, MLAs and MPs.