With less than 24 hours to go for the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) Board elections, Indian candidate and IFFCO Chairman Dileep Sanghani appears well placed in the race, with his candidature gaining support across regions and an energetic Indian campaign working overtime to secure every possible vote.
The election will be held on September 15 at the Panama Convention Centre in Panama City, where the ICA General Assembly will elect 15 At-Large Directors from the field of candidates. The contest involves 930 votes, making every country and every delegation potentially significant.
Indian Cooperative has learnt that the campaign for Sanghani has gathered considerable momentum, with several major cooperative countries understood to have pledged support to the Indian candidate. China, Japan, South Korea, Iran, Jordan, Palestine, the Philippines, Spain, Brazil, Paraguay, the United States, Argentina, the UK and France are among the countries whose support is being actively counted by the Indian side.
India, with 25 votes, has one of the largest voting blocks. Several neighbouring and friendly countries, including Nepal and Bangladesh, are also understood to be supporting Sanghani. Mauritius, which has three votes, is another country that has reportedly pledged its backing.
Two competent managers, Savitri Singh and Tarun Bharagava, have been working virtually round the clock, contacting delegates, presenting Sanghani’s credentials and seeking support for his candidature. Their intensive outreach has helped take the Indian candidate’s message well beyond the traditional Indian cooperative constituency.
The numbers provide Sanghani with a strong foundation, but his biggest advantage could be his global cooperative persona.
Sanghani’s international stature came prominently into focus at the ICA General Assembly hosted by India in 2024. He played a central role in the proceedings and presided over the landmark gathering, giving global delegates an opportunity to closely observe his leadership and organisational abilities.
The 2024 Assembly was significant for India as it brought the global cooperative fraternity to New Delhi and provided a major platform for the country’s cooperative movement. Sanghani’s handling of the event helped strengthen his visibility among international cooperative leaders.
India has also maintained a presence on the ICA global body. In the 2022 election held in Spain, Aditya Yadav secured a seat. Four years later, Sanghani’s candidature represents India’s bid to retain that representation, and the current support pattern suggests that the country has a realistic opportunity to do so again.
Sanghani is campaigning not merely on his record but also on a vision for the future of cooperation. His message places innovation, digital transformation and artificial intelligence alongside the traditional values of the cooperative movement.
“Innovation should always serve people,” Sanghani says, arguing that cooperatives must embrace digital transformation, data, emerging technologies and AI while remaining rooted in human values and community welfare.
His vision is to make cooperatives more efficient, connected and future-ready, while ensuring that technology strengthens people rather than replaces them.
That message, coupled with his long experience in the cooperative sector and the standing of IFFCO on the global cooperative stage, gives his candidature a distinctive appeal.
With 930 votes at stake, the final result will inevitably depend on last-minute movements and voting discipline. But with 25 votes from India, support reportedly coming from major cooperative nations across continents and an intensive final push by the Indian team, Sanghani enters the September 15 contest with a bright and credible chance of winning a place on the ICA Board.
