Sujay Vikhe (R) takes seat as chairperson of ADCC Bank alongwith Ranjitsinh Deshmukh as vice-chairperson. Former minister Balasaheb Thorat (extreme left), Ram Shinde, chairperson legislative council and WRD minister Radhakrishna Vikhe were also present
Meanwhile, Lanke, the lone opposition director who skipped the election process and signed the attendance register after arriving late, vowed to act as a strict watchdog.
Defending the alliance, Thorat said farmers’ welfare outweighed politics amid drought conditions. Given the drought-like situation, we kept politics aside and came together to work for farmers,” Thorat said. Declining to comment on internal backing, he said that the majority holds the right to decide.
On the eve of the election, Sangamner director Ranjitsinh Deshmukh met Lok Sabha MP Nilesh Lanke at Supa rest house, sparking speculation. Nashik : Former MP and BJP state vice-president Sujay Vikhe Patil was elected unopposed as chairperson of the Ahilyanagar District Central Cooperative Bank on Thursday, following a rare alliance between political rivals — guardian and water resources minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil and former revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat.
I will keep a strict vigil and discharge this duty honestly,” Lanke said, demanding large-scale crop loans at low interest rates. “I am alone in the opposition in the bank. I am the chowkidaar (watchman). If only my farmer survives will the sugar industry survive,” he added.