The big day is here. Uttar Pradesh cooperatives which are alleged to be controlled by Samajwadi Party so far is going to polls today. The main fight is between BJP and the SP- the former being in the election mode for quite a long time. For BJP it is fight to finish, said a source.
According to an estimate there are around 50,000 registered cooperative societies in the state in which leaders of SP control the levers of power. BJP alleges that Shivpal Singh Yadav, then Cooperation Minister not only ensured that SP workers are in control of co-op bodies but also inducted his close family members into top cooperative posts.
Buoyed up by the victory in Urban Local Bodies elections in Uttar Pradesh, BJP aims to capture co-operative bodies. It had held several meetings in the run up to the elections. Besides others, State BJP general secretary Vijay Bahadur Pathak had been quite active in these elections, media reports quote.
Sahakar Bharati also talked of freeing state co-operatives from the clutches of Samajwadi Party. In Sahakar Bharti’s view, nothing short of a thorough overhaul could bring the cooperative sector back on the rails.
The RSS body has been organizing meetings and selecting winnable candidates for the day for quite a long time. How far they have made inroads would be clear only when the election results are out.
Sources say it was at the insistence of Sahakar Bharati that the Yogi govt ordered an inquiry into the recruitment of people for scores of posts over the last years. Chukhan Lal Secretary and CEO of Saharanpur District Cooperative Bank, Etawa District Cooperative Bank Deputy Managing Director Sunil Kumar Pundir are some of the co-op officials punished by Yogi govt in recent times.
Sahkar Bharti has demanded the establishment of a state cooperative board patterned on the Maharashtra model. They have also demanded the appointment of a full time registrar of cooperative bodies.
In several districts of the state imposition of Section 144 have been imposed from January 28 to March 3 in view of the elections. Police sources say considering Shivaratri – a Hindu festival will occur almost simultaneously, imposition of section 144 was a necessity.
Voters will elect chairmen of cooperative societies.