Its Pawar vs Taware Traditional Fight, Four Panels for Vote Split

Malegaon Sugar Election | June 18, 2025

• 90 Candidates in the Fray for 21 Seats
• No Candidate from Sharad Pawar Group Against Deputy CM Ajit Pawar
• Why Does a Deputy Chief Minister Want to Be a Sugar Factory Director?

A fiercely contested election is underway for the board of directors of Malegaon Cooperative Sugar Factory, which is usually considered a four-way contest, but this time, members believe it will be more of a two-way fight. There are 90 candidates contesting for 21 director positions, with 19,600 member voters. Voting will be held on June 22 and counting on June 24.

A total of 593 nominations were filed for the 21 seats. By the last day for withdrawal, 503 candidates had withdrawn or had their nominations rejected. Now, 83 candidates from four different panels and 7 independents/others are contesting. Notably, the Sharad Pawar group has not fielded any candidate against Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, so the traditional Pawar vs. Taware rivalry continues. Voters claim that while the media is portraying the contest as Pawar vs. Pawar, creating confusion among members, the real battle is between Pawar and Taware groups, and the true nature of the contest—whether it is four-way or two-way—will be clear after the results.

There was speculation that Ajit Pawar’s NCP and Sharad Pawar’s group might unite. However, after Ajit Pawar announced the Nilkantheshwar Panel candidates, the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) group also announced its Baliraja Sahakar Bachav Panel.

Interestingly, the Sharad Pawar group has avoided fielding a candidate directly against Ajit Pawar. There are several reasons for this and for why a Deputy Chief Minister would want to be a sugar factory director.

In this election, Ajit Pawar’s NCP is contesting under the “Shri Nilkantheshwar Panel” (election symbol: cup and saucer), while the NCP (Sharad Pawar) group has the “Baliraja Sahakar Bachav Panel” (symbol: tutari). Former chairman and BJP leader Chandrarao Taware and Ranjan Taware are contesting with the “Sahakar Bachav Shetkari Panel” (symbol: kettle), and the Karmachari Shetkari Sangharsh Samiti Panel (symbol: umbrella) is also in the fray, along with independents. According to key candidates, some seats will see three-way fights, but most will be two-way contests.

The election schedule for the Malegaon Cooperative Sugar Factory board was announced on May 21. Nominations were accepted from May 21 to May 27, with voting on June 22. The final candidate list was published on June 13, and counting will be on June 24.

Dada’s Focus on Directorship Instead of Chief Ministership

Taware has criticized Ajit Pawar, saying, “Instead of aiming for the Chief Minister’s post, he wants to be the chairman of a sugar factory.” This has led to questions among the public about why a Deputy CM wants to be a sugar factory director. Ajit Pawar began his political career in 1984 with the Chhatrapati Sugar Factory in Indapur and is contesting a sugar factory election after 41 years.

Despite being Deputy CM multiple times, Ajit Pawar has always ensured his dominance in local politics, as seen by his long tenure as director of the Pune District Bank (32 years, from 1991 to 2023). In 2023, he resigned and was replaced by Ranjit Taware from Malegaon. Ajit Pawar has always represented the B group (cooperative producers, non-producers, and marketing societies) to maintain his influence.

If the Nilkantheshwar Panel wins a majority, Ajit Pawar may resign from the director’s post and give the opportunity to someone else. The Nilkantheshwar Panel includes both old and new faces, with Ajit Pawar himself contesting from the B group. In the 2015 election, Taware’s panel defeated Ajit Pawar’s, but in 2020, Ajit Pawar’s panel regained power. Over the past five years, opposition panels have targeted Ajit Pawar for the performance of his team.

Panel-wise Candidate Lists

Neelkantheshwar Panel – Group-wise Candidates

Malegaon Group – Balasaheb Patil Tavare, Shivraj Pratapsingh Jadhavrao, Rajendra Sakharam Burungale.

Pandare Group – Tanaji Tatyasaheb Kokare, Swapnil Shivajirao Jagtap, Yogesh Dhansingh Jagtap.

Sangvi Group – Vijay Shrirangrao Tavare, Virendra Arvind Tavare, Ganpat Chandrarao Khalate.

Khandaj-Shirvali Group – Pratap Jaysingh Atawale, Satish Jaysingh Phalke.

Nirawagaj Group – Jaipal Nivrutti Devkate, Avinash Gulabrao Devkate.

Baramati Group – Nitin Sadashiv Satav, Devidas Somnath Gawade.

‘B’ Class Constituency – Ajit Anantrao Pawar.

Scheduled Castes and Tribes (SC/ST) – Ratnakumar Sahebrao Bhosale.

Women Reserved Representative – Sangeeta Balasaheb Kokare, Mrs. Jyoti Machhindranath Mulmule.

Other Backward Classes (OBC) – Nitin Vamanrao Shende.

Nomadic Tribes and Special Backward Classes – Vilas Hrishikesh Devkate.

Sahakar Bachav (Save Cooperative) Farmers Panel –

Malegaon Group – Ranjankumar Shankarrao Tavare, Sangram Gajanan Kate, Ramsh Shankarrao Gophane.

Pandare Group – Satyajit Sambhajirao Jagtap, Ranjit Shivajirao Jagtap, Rohan Ravindra Kokare.

Khandaj-Shirvali Group – Vilas Narayan Saste, Meghshyam Vilas Pondkule.

Sangvi Group – Chandrarao Krishnarao Tavare, Ranjit Virsen Khalate, Sanjay Baburao Khalate.

Nirawagaj Group – Rajesh Sopan Devkate, Keshav Tatyasaheb Devkate.

Baramati Group – Gulabrao Bajirao Gawade, Veersingh alias Netaji Vijaysingh Gaware.

From B Class Constituency – Bhalchandra Bapurao Devkate.

From SC/ST Category – Bapurao Appaji Gaikwad.
From Women Reserved Category – Rajshree Bapurao Kokare, Suman Tulshiram Gawade.

From OBC Category – Ramchandra Kondiba Nale.

From Nomadic Tribes & Denotified Tribes – Suryaji Tatyasaheb Nale.

Baliraja Sahakar Bachav Panel –

Malegaon Group – Amit Chandrakant Tavare, Rajendra Daulat Kate, Shrihari Pandurang Yele.

Pandare Group – Sushilkumar Uttam Jagtap, Dayanand Chandrakant Kokare, Bhagat Singh Aba Jagtap.

Sangvi Group – Sanjay Namdev Tavare, Rajendra Ashok Jadhav, Suresh Tukaram Khalate.

Khandaj-Shirvali Group – Sopan Tukaram Atawale, Tanaji Bhaguji Atawale.

Nirawagaj Group – Ganpat Shankar Devkate, Sharadchandra Shankarrao Tupe.

Baramati Group – Pralhad Gulabrao Ware, Amol Devidas Gawli.

Women Reserved Category – Shakuntala Shivaji Kokare, Pushpa Mohan Gawade.

From OBC Category – Bharat Dattatraya Bankar, Dnyaneshwar Gulabrao Burungale.
From SC/ST Voter Constituency – Rajendra Shrirang Bhosale.

Election Overview

In the Malegaon factory election, 7 current directors and 5 former directors are contesting, making it a four-way contest. A direct contest is expected between Ajit Pawar and Bhalchandra Devkate.

Key Questions Remain

Why didn’t the Sharad Pawar group field a candidate against Ajit Pawar? Why did Ajit Pawar contest this election? Whom did the Taware group support in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections? What is the local political equation? Is the new generation of the Pawar family not yet eligible for the director post? Are both NCP factions playing a joint game, or is there an understanding between Ajit Pawar and Taware? For answers and analysis to these and many more questions, keep reading SugarToday (sugartoday.in).

(Author Chandrakant Bhujbal is a senior journalist and renowned election analyst. He has published several books on elections and is the founder of the Political Research and Analysis Bureau [PRAB].)