Anchal Goyal, District Magistrate of Mumbai, on Thursday suggested that identifying polling booths at the district level in advance could significantly simplify the conduct of elections in cooperative societies.
Speaking at a seminar organised by the Central Cooperative Election Authority at Vigyan Bhavan, Goyal shared her experience of conducting elections for the Jackson Cooperative Credit Society, a credit cooperative of railway employees.
She said the election involved nearly 91,000 voters, of whom about 65,000 cast their votes, while 84 candidates contested. The society operates across five states, making the election process complex. Officials had to carefully study the provisions of the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Amendment Act and the society’s bye-laws to ensure the proper conduct of the polls.
She said the Cooperative Election Authority should identify polling booths at the district level in advance for cooperative elections, on the lines of other elections, to make the process smoother and more efficient.
She added that Maharashtra has a mature cooperative ecosystem where the cooperative movement plays an important role in the overall growth of the sector.