The apex body of Souharda Co-ops- Karnataka State Souharda Federal Cooperative entered into the election mode and the filing of nomination papers has started, which will last till 16th July.
The final list after scrutiny and withdrawal will come by 18th July and the election is scheduled for 24th July 2022.
Meanwhile, the Karnataka chapter of Sahakar Bharati is busy short listing their candidates for the elections. A source said that many District Central Co-operative Bank Chairman, representing apex body from their respective Souharda co-ops, will also be in the fray.
The several outgoing board members and President Krishna Reddy have started touring different Souharda co-ops for seeking votes in their favor.
“There will be intense fights and the elections will not be unanimous. The apex body elections like an Assembly or Parliamentary elections”, said one of the outgoing board members
The board consists of 21 seats and there are no reserved seats. The board is divided into four divisions which includes Bangalore (6 seats), Mysore (2 seats), Belgaum (7 seats) and Kalaburgi (6 seats).
There are a total of 5,573 souharda co-ops which are the members of the apex body but 2765 societies have not sent names for participating in the elections or several names were rejected for discrepancies in their forms.
There are 2808 eligible voters in the elections. Karnataka Slum Development Board Commissioner B Venkatesh (KAS) has been appointed as the returning officer to oversee the election process.
According to the data released by the apex body, the deposits and loan base of these souharda societies were Rs 18,004 crore and Rs 14,343 crore till 31st March 2019 respectively. But by 31st March 2022, it has risen to Rs 27,352 crore (Deposits) and Rs 20,596 crore (Loans).
Besides, the profits of these societies have increased to Rs 264 crore (31st March 2019) to Rs 365 crore (31st March 2022). The reserves rose from Rs 1886 crore to Rs 2,270 crore. As of 31st March 2019, there were 1240 but now there are 1505 e-stamping centers, the official statement says.
Souharda is a novel concept being experimented in Karnataka, wherein co-ops are governed by separate Souharda Act. It has been a successful experiment so far.