Preparations by various parties for the elections to the District Central Co-operative Bank in Belagavi have led to significant political developments.
The State Cooperative Election Authority has announced that the filing of nomination papers, and voting, if necessary, will be held on November 6.
The 16-member financial institution mostly had BJP leaders heading it in the recent years.
Current president of the DCC Bank Ramesh Katti, younger brother of the former Minister Umesh Katti has been occupying office for 17 years, while his political rival and Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi has served as cooperative president for five years.
In 2015, Mr. Ramesh Katti defeated Mr. Savadi by a single vote when he polled nine votes against Mr. Savadi's eight.
It was suspected that the lone government nominee favoured Mr. Ramesh Katti. That the two belonged to the same party did not seem to matter.
This time around, Mr. Savadi has two interesting allies — the Jolle couple from Nippani and the Sangh Parivar.
MP from Chikkodi Anna Saheb Jolle has been a long-standing director of the bank. His wife and Minister for Women and Child Welfare Shashikala Jolle is a national-level office-bearer of the Sangh Parivar-affiliate Sahakara Bharati, a federation of co-operative societies.
Senior RSS functionaries held a meeting with DCC Bank aspirants in the house of RSS leader Arvind Rao Deshpande in Athani twice this month.
District in-charge Minister Ramesh Jarkiholi exposed cracks in the party when he said that he would abide by the decisions taken by his brother and BJP MLA Balachandra Jarkiholi and Mr. Umesh Katti in relation to issues involving the bank. Another meeting is scheduled on Wednesday.
It was interpreted as if he would not side with the Savadi and Jolle group.
Mr. Balachandra Jarkiholi is said to enjoy the confidence of all his brothers, including Congress leader Satish Jarkiholi.
In the Congress camp, Channaraj Hattiholi, brother of MLA Lakshmi Hebbalkar, seems anxious to contest.
The MLA, however, has denied it.
DCC Bank polls have gathered interest as local politics in Belagavi tends to have repercussions at the State level.
Two years earlier, the choice of candidates for the Belagavi Taluk Rural Development Bank led to a bitter battle between Ms. Lakshmi Hebbalkar and the Jarkiholi brothers that shook State politics.
