The well-known cooperator from Gujarat Ajaybhai Patel was elected unopposed as the Chairman of Cooperative Banks of India (COBI), with his deputy Milind Kale. The election of the COBI was held at the boardroom of NCUI in Delhi on Thursday.
Patel, who hails from Gujarat, is the Chairman of Gujarat State Cooperative Bank whereas Kale is the Chairman of second largest urban cooperative bank of India-Cosmos Cooperative Bank.
Talking to the Indian Cooperative Patel said, “I am very thankful to the board members who have reposed faith in me and given me such a big responsibility. We will work together to take the COBI to newer heights”.
Patel vowed to make efforts to secure a license for the Cooperative Banks of India (COBI)- an issue that has somehow checked the growth of this apex body.
Meanwhile, his supporters and other board members said due to his close relation with Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah, the issue of license will be resolved sooner than later.
The newly elected Chairman has replaced GH Amin from the top post, who didn’t contest because the Multi State Cooperative Societies Act bars anyone from contesting for a third time.
Amin was at the helm of COBI for ten years and is credited for keeping the co-op body afloat despite several odds and past govts’ apathy. In his tenure he organized high voltage annual seminars not only in India but also abroad. Several foreign co-operators debated on the issue of co-op credit in such seminars.
Amin also played a crucial role in choosing Ajay Patel as the new Chairman, sources close to him said. Amin called the new Chairman dashing and effective while talking to Indian Cooperative, soon after the results were announced.
In theory COBI is the apex body of all banks—-co-op banks, UCBs, Land Mortgage, etc. The board of COBI consists of 21 elected directors out of which 16 got elected and 5 seats have remained vacant. In the new board, a few are first timers.
The Board of Directors include Chandra Pal Singh from Kribhco, Bijender Singh from Nafed, K Ravinder Rao from NAFSCOB, Dolar Kotecha from Nafcard, H.K.Patil from Nafcub, GH Amin from NCUI, Vishal Singh from NCCF, Vidyadhar Anaskar from MSC Bank, Devendra Singh Shyam from HP State Co-op Bank, Kenchanagouda Linganagouda from Raddi Co-op Credit Society and others.
In the election of Chairman and Vice-Chairman, Dolar Kotecha and Chandra Pal Singh Yadav was the proposer and seconder of Ajaybhai Patel whereas GH Amin and Vidyadhar Anaskar was the proposer and seconder of Milind Kale.
Besides, the board has co-opted IFFCO and NCUI Chairman Dileepbhai Sanghani and Haridwar DCCB Chairman Pradeep Kumar as the director. Biscomaun Chairman Sunil Kumar Singh has been made the special invitee.
Kolankara Raghavan Kutty was appointed as the returning officer to oversee the election process. Dr V K Dubey, Honorary Managing Director, COBI was also present.
The idea of electing Ajay Patel as the Chairman of COBI was perhaps broached during Patel’s recent visit to the NCUI headquarters. Patel was closeted with Dileep Sanghani, Bijender Singh and Raghvendra Rao in the Chairman’s antechamber for a while.
The Indian Cooperative is of the view that electing Ajay Patel as the head of the COBI, is a masterstroke by the co-operators connected with the co-op body. COBI, which has been a nonstarter so far, may find itself in a new avatar with Patel at its helm, given his leverage with the ruling party. The situation is akin to the Nafed which could be revived only due to Dileep Sanghani’s closeness with the Prime Minister. The COBI’s licence and other issues are expected to be solved in the course of time.
