The Cooperative Election Authority (CEA), under the Union Ministry of Cooperation, has approved the election of 15 members to the Governing Council of the National Cooperative Union of India (NCUI) while keeping the result of the Group-II (National Level Cooperative Societies/Federations) constituency pending due to the ongoing proceedings before the Supreme Court.
In an order issued on Friday, the CEA accorded approval to the Returning Officer’s recommendations for the Group-I, Group-III and Group-IV constituencies. The Authority directed the Returning Officer to declare the results of the approved constituencies and instructed the NCUI Chief Executive to display the names of the 15 elected members and one nominated member prominently on the society’s website and notice board.
However, the CEA clarified that the result of Bye-law 14(a)(ii) – Group-II (National Level Cooperative Societies/Federations) would be communicated separately in view of the pendency of SLP (C) No. 15363/2026 before the Supreme Court, which is scheduled to hear the matter on August 14, 2026.
Group-II, representing the National Cooperative Societies/Federations constituency, is the only constituency where six candidates contested for five seats. According to the vote count conducted after excluding the three sealed ballots, NCCF Chairman Vishal Singh secured 11 votes, followed by IFFCO Chairman Dileep Sanghani with 10 votes and NAFED Director Mohanbhai Kundariya with nine votes. KRIBHCO Director Bipin Patel and NDDB Chairman Meenesh Shah received eight votes each, while one vote was rejected.
As the Group-II result has not been formally declared, the Supreme Court’s decision on the three sealed ballots could determine the final outcome.
The elected members whose results have been approved are:
Group-I: Dhananjay Kumar Singh, Ghanshyam H. Amin, Pravin Yashwant Darekar, G.T. Devegowda, Vinay Kumar Shahi, Jeena Potsangbam and Sunil Kumar.
Group-III: T. Prasad Rao Dora, Meghnad Pal, H.K. Patil, Agadi Ashok, Mudit Verma and Annasaheb Shankar Jolle.
Group-IV: Dina Nath Thakur and Nakul Vilasrao Kadu.
The CEA has also informed that a separate schedule for the election of NCUI office-bearers, including the Chairman and Vice Chairman, will be issued in due course after the remaining constituency is decided.
The approval effectively enables NCUI to formally constitute its Governing Council with 15 elected members and one nominated member, while the crucial Group-II constituency remains subject to the Supreme Court’s decision, which is expected to have a bearing on the election of the Union’s office-bearers.
