Federation of Multi-State Cooperative Societies Chairman Suresh Wable has urged the Co-operative Election Authority (CEA) to extend the timeline for conducting the first election of newly registered multi-state cooperative societies from six months to one year and to entrust election responsibilities to the Registrar of Cooperative Societies (RCS) and Deputy/Divisional Registrars (DDRs) instead of District Collectors.
Wable made the suggestions during a high-level discussion on “Comprehensive National Framework for Strengthening Cooperative Electoral Governance” organized by VAMNICOM, Pune, on Monday. The deliberations were attended by Co-operative Election Authority Chairperson Devendra Kumar Singh and other senior cooperative sector leaders.
According to Wable, District Collectors are already burdened with administrative, law-and-order and election-related responsibilities, making it difficult for them to devote adequate attention to cooperative elections. He suggested that the Authority consider utilizing the RCS machinery and DDRs for conducting and supervising elections of multi-state cooperative societies.
Seeking an amendment to Rule 14 of the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Rules, 2002, Wable argued that newly registered societies require additional time to complete member enrolment and verification, prepare electoral rolls, establish administrative infrastructure, open bank accounts and comply with statutory requirements before holding elections.
He said the proposed reforms would facilitate smoother, more transparent and dispute-free elections while strengthening democratic governance in the cooperative sector.
The suggestions formed part of broader discussions on developing a comprehensive national framework for cooperative electoral governance, with participants emphasizing transparency, accountability and efficiency in the conduct of cooperative elections across the country.
Among those present were Vamnicom Director Dr. Suva Kanta Mohanty, Anil M. Kawade (IAS Retd.), Commissioner, State Cooperative Election Authority (SCEA); V. S. Ankalkote Patil, Vice Chairman, Federation of Multi-State Cooperative Maharashtra & Karnataka; Krishna Wadekar, Additional Commissioner, Maharashtra State (Retd.); and Shilpa Kadu, Deputy Registrar, Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies.
