Belagavi, 29 Sept

Former BJP MP Ramesh Katti’s panel swept the Hukkeri Electricity Cooperative Society election, delivering a major setback to Belagavi district in-charge minister Satish Jarkiholi. Katti and former minister AB Patil’s group won all 15 seats, retaining control over the society. The Katti family have held the society for the past 25 years.

The campaign saw sharp exchanges between the two camps.  Katti and Patil’s group played the “locals versus outsiders” card, urging voters to back local candidates, warning that if they voted for Jarkiholi they would be forced to go to Gokak — the family’s stronghold— for their official work.

Jarkiholi’s side had the support of former Chikkodi MP Annasaheb Jolle, who had earlier lost to Jarkiholi’s daughter Priyanka in a previous election. Notably, Jarkiholi is from the Congress, while Jolle is part of the BJP.

Both factions treated the cooperative poll as a matter of prestige, but the Katti panel secured a clean sweep.

“They (Jarkiholi-Jolle) should realise that strong-arm tactics and money does not work all the time,” Katti said after the results.

After the results were declared, Katti supporters allegedly pelted stones at Jarkiholi’s followers.

The Hukkeri Electricity Cooperative Society holds a unique distinction in India as the only cooperative that generates electricity and directly supplies it to consumers. It functions as an alternative to HESCOM in power distribution in Hukkeri taluk and has supplied electricity to around 125 villages and 20 hamlets in Hukkeri taluk. Elections are conducted every five years.

The rivalry will now shift to the Belagavi District Cooperative Credit Bank elections scheduled for October, where both groups are preparing for another face-off. The Katti panel currently controls the bank’s board.