Polls to Rajkot’s biggest co-op bank: Gujarat BJP treasurer Surendra Patel elected without contest

The elections to the Rajkot constituency is the most hotly contested with 23 candidates filing nominations for 13 seats. Polling booths have been set up in Rajkot city, Jetpur, Dhoraji, Morbi, Jasdan, Ahmedabad, Surat and Mumbai.

As per a note from Rajkot district collector who is the election officer for the election, this is the first election to a multi-state bank under the Multistate Co-operative Society Act 2002 which was amended in 2023 to appoint a Co-operative Election Authority. The bank, with a deposit base of Rs 5,139 crore has seen stalwarts of the BJP and RSS as its patrons even as it expanded out of Saurashtra to open its first branch in Ahmedabad in 1990 and then to Mumbai in 2002.

Rajkot District Collector Prabhav Joshi told The Indian Express Saturday that 23 candidates have filed nominations for the 13 seats of Rajkot constituency where voting will be held for those seats. “While polling will be held in all the seven booths for the seats reserved for two women candidates for which three nominations have been filed”, said Joshi. The other candidates who have been elected uncontested are Navin Babarbhai Patel, Lalitbhai Dhirajlal Vora, Dipak Veljibhai Kakaraniya, Hasmukhbhai Ishwarlal Hindocha and Mangesh Shreerambhai Joshi.

Counting of votes will be done on November 19 and results on the board of directors will be declared the following day. Four nominations were rejected by the election office of which two prospective nominees Kalpak Maniar and Mihir Maniar moved Gujarat high court, but their pleas were rejected on grounds of maintainability recently.