Hukumchand Amadhare elected Deputy Chairman

The election for the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Mumbai Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) was conducted as per the High Court's directive. In an unopposed victory, Prabhu Patil, a farmer representative from Ulhasnagar-Badlapur (Konkan region), was elected as Chairman, while Hukumchand Amadhare from Nagpur was elected as Deputy Chairman.

For the past two years, these key positions had remained vacant, causing delays in several crucial decisions within the Market Committee. Director Jaydatt Holkar had filed a petition in the Bombay High Court, emphasizing the need for elections, following which the court instructed the committee to fill the positions. Consequently, the election was held on February 24 at 2 PM at the Mumbai APMC administrative building.

The election witnessed a political tug-of-war between the Ajit Pawar faction and Eknath Shinde faction. Former Chairman Ashok Duck, a supporter of Ajit Pawar, had made significant efforts to retain influence, while Prabhu Patil, a known Shinde supporter, emerged as a strong contender.

Reports suggest that Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde backed Prabhu Patil behind the scenes, while Minister Ganesh Naik played a strategic role in securing unanimous support for his candidacy.

Ultimately, the election process concluded without opposition. This leadership change is expected to accelerate decision-making and bring much-needed reforms to the APMC Market Committee.