India’s well-known co-operator Dr. Chandra Pal Singh Yadav has thrown himself into the ring and is contesting for the top post of ICA Asia-Pacific, the election for which is scheduled during the ICA General Assembly in Seoul. Japan’s Chitose Arai is Yadav’s rival for the post.
“Chandra Pal is a tall leader who has served the cooperative movement for more than four decades. He has been the president of apex body NCUI for two terms and is currently Chairman of Kribhco, he stands a chance to win”, said a co-operator.
“Besides, representatives and delegates of other countries know Dr. Chandra Pal as he is the outgoing Vice-Chairman of ICA AP and not somebody unknown to them”, added Tarun Bhargava, IFFCO’s Co-op Relations man who keeps a close eye on international cooperative politics.
But politics is politics and uncertainties abound here. Indian Cooperative has, meanwhile, information that indicates that Chandra Pal will win hands down. Among the 239 votes spread among 28 countries, support for Chandra Pal is swelling from many countries. China which has 24 votes is said to have pledged its support to Chandra Pal. Similarly, Nepal which is India’s neighbor and which has an engaging relationship with the Indian cooperative movement is expected to support his candidature.
There are several small and large countries with sizable votes, which are going to support Chandra Pal, sources add. The contest in the election of Vice-Chairman of ICA AP would also throw opportunities for India to garner votes, said a source. Malaysia, China, and Iran are in the fray for the Vice-chairmanship. Two of the three will finally make it.
A day or two before the voting, the actual scene would emerge, said a source adding the polling is going to be lowkey due to the Corona scare. Polling would be online through electronic voting.
There are several leaders from India, who are going to Seoul to lend support to Chandra Pal’s candidature. Besides Dr. Chandra Pal Singh Yadav, Dileep Sanghani, Sunil Kumar Singh, and Tarun Bhargava are leaving for Seoul. NCUI has four votes and its officials led by CE Sudhir Mahajan are leaving on Friday. The IFFCO brigade which has 8 votes would be leaving a day later.
ICA has put a cap of maximum of 25 votes for a country. Countries like India, Nepal, Japan, South Korea, Iran and Philippines have 25 votes each while China has 24 votes. Smaller countries have lesser number of votes.
Stay glued to www.indiancooperative.com to know more about the upcoming ICA AP elections.
