Maharashtra Rural Development Minister and NCP leader Hasan Mushrif has been re-elected unopposed as the Chairman of Kolhapur District Central Cooperative (KDCC) Bank and the Congress leader Raju Baba Awale elected as the Vice-Chairman of the said bank, in an election held on Thursday.
It will be the second term of Mushrif in a row as the Chairman of the KDCC bank. MLA Raju Awale is the son of former Minister Jayavantrao Awale.
It is reported that earlier Mushrif was not in favor of seeking the second term as the Chairman of the bank due to his tight schedule but after the pressure from the top-notch leaders of NCP, he agreed to the proposition.
It bears recalling that out of 21 seats of the board of directors of Kolhapur District Central Cooperative Bank, 17 were won by the leaders of Congress and NCP. The three were won by the Shiv Sena sitting MP Sanjay Mandlik, Baba Saheb Asurlekar, and Arjun Abitkar, and 1 won by the independent candidate.
The social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter were flooded with congratulatory messages as soon as their names were announced. Maharashtra Minister Satej D Patil wrote, “Congratulations mr hasan mushrif Saheb and Congress party’s MLA @raju_baba_awale for being elected as the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of Kolhapur District Central Co-operative Bank.
Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Balasaheb Thorat wrote, “Congratulations mr hasan mushrif, Minister for Rural Development for being elected as Chairman of Kolhapur District Central Co-operative Bank and Congress MLA as the Vice President. It is hoped that under his leadership the Bank will continue to work for the benefit of its members and farmers”.
MLA from Latur (Maharashtra) wrote, “Congratulations to Minister of State for Rural Development Hon. Hasan Mushrif and Congress MLA Hon. Raju Awale ji for being elected as the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of Kolhapur District Central Co-operative Bank”. There were many others who congratulated their leaders without losing time through social media.
The bank had attracted media attention when a vehicle carrying Rs 4 crore in cash was looted. The cash was being transported by an employee of Kolhapur District Central Cooperative Bank, in a private vehicle from Kolhapur to the bank’s Gadhinglaj branch.
The KDCC Bank was established in 1938. The membership of the bank is mixed. It has co-operative societies and individual members. The Bank is the apex body of all the co-operative societies in the district.
The Bank operates in a three-tier credit structure as a link between rural service organizations and NABARD. The bank is providing services through over 191 branches in the district including the central office.
Mushrif Hasan was not available for comment on his election.
