Congress to retain power in Wankaner taluka processing cooperative

Kanani said that polling will not require to be conducted as only one candidate has been left in the fray for each seat. “Therefore, the declaration of results scheduled on March 1 will be merely a formality,” he added.

Mohmed Javid Pirzada, the former Congress MLA who lost the December 2022 election to Jitu Somani of the BJP and thus failed to retain his seat, claimed that 10 of the 12 candidates who are set to get elected unopposed are cooperative leaders pledging allegiance to Congress.

“Out of the 12 candidates left in the fray, 10 are from the panel fielded by me. In the outgoing board of directors of WTCPSL also, 10 directors were Congress supporters. Thus, we are set to retain the control of this cooperative,” Pirzada said.

Election to cooperative bodies in Gujarat are not contested on symbols of any political parties. WTCPSL is an important cooperative body of taluka level as it is engaged mainly in the ginning and pressing of cotton grown by farmers.

Congress had established a firm grip on Wankaner Assembly seat, which is dominated by voters of Koli community, as Pirzada won it for three consecutive times in 2007, 2012 and 2017 Assembly elections.However, he lost to Somani in the December 2022 Assembly, marking the return of the BJP to this seat after a gap of 20 years.

Meanwhile, after a legal battle over delimitation of seats, process to elect a new board of directors for Wankaner Taluka Sales and Purchase Union Limited (WTSPUL) began on Wednesday and the Congress leader exuded confidence that his party would retain its control over this cooperative body also.

“We hold sway over nine out 12 seats in this cooperative also and we are confident to retain our hold in this cooperative body also,” said Pirzada.
Electoral rolls and delimitation of seats of WTSPUL were announced on January 19 this year.

However, the government later on changed delimitation of seats and cooperative leaders pledging support to Congress challenged that before the Gujarat High Court.

“The honourable High Court has ruled to conduct election as per the order of January 19. Therefore, from Wednesday onward, the process of election to WTSPUL resumed on Wednesday and candidates could file their nominations from Wednesday onward,” Kanani, who is election officer for this election also said.

If need be, polling will be conducted for WTSPUL election on March 3 and results will also be announced on the same day.