The list of valid nominations released on Tuesday evening after scrutiny for the election to the Governing Council of the National Cooperative Union of India (NCUI) has thrown up a mixed picture. Of the 40 nominations filed, 37 were found valid, while three were rejected.
The rejected nominations include Saurabh Sharma, Administrator of Chhattisgarh Rajya Sahakari Sangh, Tippi Mohan Reddy of the Telangana Cooperative Union, and Balmiki Tripathi, Director of IFFCO and Chairman of the U.P. Cooperative Federation.
The nominations of Saurabh Sharma and Tippi Mohan Reddy were rejected after their proposer, Vinay Kumar Shahi of the Bihar State Cooperative Federation, withdrew his consent on Tuesday. Balmiki Tripathi’s nomination was rejected after objections raised by Anand Shukla and Rama Shankar Jaiswal, citing his prior consent as a proposer for another candidate and the absence of his name in the U.P. Cooperative Federation’s sponsoring resolution.
Meanwhile, as reported earlier in these columns, five candidates were already poised to be elected unopposed, and with the completion of the scrutiny process, their nominations have now been declared valid. Three more candidates have since joined the list of unopposed winners: Pravin Darekar, BJP MLC and Chairman of the Maharashtra State Cooperative Union; G.T. Devegowda, President of the Karnataka State Cooperative Federation; and Agadi Ashok, Director of the Karnataka State Cooperative Marketing Federation.
With these additions, the total number of candidates elected unopposed has risen to eight. The other five are G.H. Amin, Sunil Kumar, T. Prasad Dora, Meghnad Pal, and Mudit Verma.
With eight of the 20 Governing Council seats now effectively filled unopposed, the focus now shifts to the final list of contesting candidates, which will be released on Wednesday after the deadline for withdrawal of nominations. Indian Cooperative has learnt that a majority of the remaining seats are also expected to witness unopposed elections.
There are possibilities of contest in the Multi-State Cooperative Societies constituency representing the Northern and Eastern States and Union Territories. Here, eight candidates remain in the fray before withdrawals. There are 44 voters.
Another contest likely to take place is in the State Cooperative Unions constituency representing Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. There are two valid nominations for a single seat. The contest is between Pradeep Kumar, Director of IFFCO, and Dhananjay Singh, a member of the NCDC General Council. It remains to be seen whether one of them withdraws or the seat goes to a poll.
A similar situation exists in another State Cooperative Unions constituency from the North, where Mangaljit Rai and Jeena Potsangbam are in the fray for one seat. However, cooperative circles believe Jeena Potsangbam has a stronger chance of being elected, with the possibility that Mangaljit Rai may withdraw in the interest of organisational consensus.
Similarly, all five seats in the National Cooperative Federations category are also expected to be filled unopposed. One seat, however, representing the National Federation of Urban Cooperative Banks and Credit Societies, could witness a contest if neither candidate withdraws. Veteran cooperative leader H.K. Patil is pitted against Sunil Gupta, and the outcome will depend on whether the two arrive at a consensus before the withdrawal deadline.
All eyes are now on Wednesday’s withdrawal process, which is expected to determine whether the NCUI Governing Council elections turn into a contest or largely remain a consensus-driven exercise.
