<h1>Joint regional-party panel swept in employees' cooperative election, rival wins 14 of 21 seats amid vote-buying claims</h1> A joint panel formed by two regional parties was swept in elections to a major employees' cooperative credit society, losing all 21 contested seats to rival panels, one of which won 14 seats. Voting and counting spanned two days; contest featured five panels including one backed by the state ruling party camp and a union-affiliated list. Allegations of vote-buying were raised. The society, with over 15,000 current and former civic undertaking employees as members, had long been dominated by one union and the poll result is viewed as an early test of a potential broader local-election alliance.