The Government of Gujarat has deferred elections to the managing committees of specified cooperative societies across the state, granting a six-month exemption under the Gujarat Cooperative Societies Act, 1961. The decision has been formalised through an official notification issued in the name of the Governor of Gujarat and comes into effect immediately.
According to the notification, elections to managing committees of specified cooperative societies, which are ordinarily governed by the provisions of Section 74(G) read with Sections 145(A) to 145(V) of the Act, have been temporarily suspended. The state government has exercised its special powers under Section 161 of the Act to exempt all such societies from these provisions for a period of six months from the date of issuance of the notification.
The move is understood to provide relief to several district central cooperative banks, including Amreli DCCB, Surat DCCB and Rajkot DCCB, whose board tenures are nearing completion. With the deferment in place, the existing boards are likely to continue beyond their scheduled term until the exemption period ends.
The government has cited the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls as the primary reason for the deferment. Senior officials have stated that the SIR exercise, which involves large-scale verification and updating of voter data across the state, has placed considerable pressure on the revenue machinery. Revenue officials, who are also responsible for conducting cooperative society elections, are currently engaged almost full-time in SIR-related fieldwork and administrative duties.
Given the critical nature of the voter list revision and its tight timelines, the state government has indicated that organising cooperative elections simultaneously would be administratively difficult. The deferment, officials say, is aimed at ensuring that both statutory responsibilities are handled efficiently without compromising accuracy or fairness.
The notification makes it clear that the exemption applies to all specified cooperative societies where elections are due or required to be initiated during the six-month period. However, societies where the election process has already been initiated, or is required to be initiated, pursuant to judicial orders or court judgments have been explicitly excluded from the purview of the exemption. In such cases, elections will proceed as directed by the courts.
Reactions from the cooperative sector have been mixed. While some office-bearers have welcomed the decision as a practical response to administrative constraints, others have expressed concern over prolonged uncertainty and the continued extension of existing boards. Observers note that delays in cooperative elections have increasingly become a point of legal and political contention in Gujarat.
The deferment highlights the broader strain on state administration during concurrent large-scale exercises and is expected to remain under close scrutiny from cooperative stakeholders and the judiciary alike.
