By R Ramchandran
Here is an interesting tale of an IFFCO delegate. It is a story of a man who rises from the ground and offers tough challenge to an established Director in the democratic fight witnessed at IFFCO headquarters on May 2. The battle had three protagonists-the delegate himself, one of the Functional Directors from IFFCO and the cooperative portal www.indiancooperative.com . The man in question Mr R Ramachandran a delegate from Tamil Nadu polled 25 votes while the winner got 33 votes.
Story follows in Ramchandran’s words
What a day! The day I asked you a question. How to contest the elections to the “Board of Directors in IFFCO ” was a simple and normal question at the time. But it led to interesting encounters and after seven weeks it seems without Indian Cooperative I would have remained a small and unknown person confined to a rural society in Tamilnadu.
Hats off to you and your portal for infusing cooperative spirit in an excellent manner! Trust me you are changing lives in the cooperative everywhere in this country.
The exponential impact your cooperative portal is having in the matter of eradicating the ignorance of farmers will be remembered by history.
Take the case of recently held IFFCO election. Those who proposed to be a candidate earlier felt that it would be hard to beat the existing directors because IFFCO management must be biased in favour of them. But please publish this for heaven sake……that the actual experience was quite different. I felt it absolutely fair and in the presence of the Returning Officer R K Agrawal the procedure was conducted transparently and had the quality of a general election.
For every decision in IFFCO, I have come to know, usually there is no voting in the board of directors meeting. I think it displays the character of IFFCO. It decides practically everything by consensus.
And the respect meted out to ordinary delegates is no less remarkable.
Our MD Shri Awasthi ji was entering the IFFCO sadan on May 2 the polling day. I approached him and introduced myself as a newly elected delegate from Tamilnadu. He immediately called the photographer and asked him to take a Photo which I will never forget for the rest of my life…it is the way how we are treated in the elite cooperative.
People promise but do not deliver. But IFFCO has given 20% dividend for the past 20 years under Shri Awasthi and I am proud to be a RGB member of IFFCO.
IFFCO is the 6th largest unlisted company in India. It would not have been achieved without the technical directors who along with co-opted directors run the whole co-operative….and I always like the IFFCO caption which says…..’WHOLLY OWNED BY CO-OPERATIVES”
I also had an impressive and inspiring appointment with Shri Saxenaji-the co-operative director of IFFCO. The meeting was extended for an hour and half. I knew there how this great company was built ….not by just wishes but by sweat and blood. Saxenaji is one of those persons from whom I can continue to learn a lot for my personal and professional career not only in IFFCO but in life beyond that.
Even though I lost the elections by a whisker 33-25 the transparency of the process got etched to my mind and will stay with me for the rest of my life.
I urge you to publish this because only portals like Indian Cooperative can strengthen and enlighten co-operators in the whole of India.
R.RAMACHANDRAN
IFFCO DELEGATE
COIMBATORE
TAMILNADU