The wait is over, Janhit panel led by the outgoing Chairman Ryan Fernandes has won the majority of seats in the elections of the board of Bassein Catholic Cooperative Bank.
The counting of votes concluded late night on Tuesday and the returning officer Digambar Hausare announced the results.
The Ekta panel that fought the elections under the leadership of Onil Almeida faced defeat as only a few candidates that included Almeida from this panel won the elections. Sachin Pereira, then Chairman of the bank leading the Parivartan Panel won only two seats on the board of the bank.
The bank’s board consists of 21 directors out of which 16 come from the general category. In this category, 5 seats were won by the Janhit Panel, 4 by the Ekta Panel and 2 by the Parivartan Panel. Five seats have been won by independent candidates. The five seats from reserved category including women, SC/ST, OCB and others have also gone in favor of the Janhit Panel.
In the elections, Ryan Fernandes received 1033 votes. Defeating his four rivals, Onil Almeida got 952 votes. Meanwhile, a few prominent board directors including Yuri Gonsalves, Sunil D’mello, Gonsalo Joquim Tuscano and many outgoing board members lost the elections with narrow margins.
Talking to Indian Cooperative, Ryan Fernandes said, “We are very thankful to our shareholders who reposed faith in our panel and voted for us. They have given us a big responsibility and we will surely meet their expectations and make efforts to take the bank to newer heights”.
Meanwhile, it is being said that the few independent candidates who won the elections are likely join the Janhit Panel. Though the dates for the elections of Chairman and Vice-Chairman have not yet been announced, there are chances that Ryan Fernandes will seek a new term as the Chairman.
The newly elected board comprises many new faces, few of them have been elected for the first time. Only four directors are old hands.
It bears recall that Reserve Bank of India recently imposed a penalty of Rs 49 lakh on Bassein Catholic Co-operative Bank, Vasai for non-compliance with prudential norms.
The bank’s gross business stood at Rs 11,960 crore and Net NPA was 1.55 percent as of 31st March 2021. The cooperative bank has 77 ATMs in Maharashtra, which include 13 offsite ATMs.
