The grand margin of IFFCO’s candidate Aditya Yadav’s victory in the vote for the ICA board has led to a debate in the domestic cooperative circles if India had contested for the top post could it pull it off in the international cooperative organization.
It bears recall IFFCO made history at the global level when its candidate for the International Cooperative Alliance Board was declared elected with the highest number of votes. Aditya Yadav polled 627 out of total votes of 696. Ariel Guarco from Argentina was declared elected the new Chairman of the global apex body replacing Monique Leroux.
Several cooperators felt that as almost everybody voted for Aditya from north to south and from west to east, IFFCO’s candidature for the top post could have been a bid within the bounds of possibility.
And the strongest votary of this theory is Biscomaun Chairman Sunil Kumar Singh. Talking to this correspondent Singh said ” You should have been there to see Dr U S Awasthi’s magical spell on foreign delegates; Awasthi’s meetings with them immediately translated into votes for IFFCO and India”, he added.
‘I have met Radhamohan Babu soon after my return and told him how IFFCO and its MD pulled off a rare victory; he was also impressed”, said Biscomaun Chairman narrating his meeting with the Union Agriculture and Cooperation
Some of the former ICA officials, however, are not that confident when it comes to the top post of ICA. On condition of anonymity one of them said, “It is easy to get votes for a Board membership but it’s a different ball game altogether when it involves the Presidentship of the apex global co-op body”.
Besides, it also involves huge donations to ICA for qualifying for the top post. IFFCO may or may not be interested in this, the Ex-official pointed out.
Appreciating the fact that Aditya was ahead of his Japanese and American rivals the official said “This is no ordinary thing as you get such a clean win only when your support sweeps all the corners and all the continents”.
But what I feel is the IFFCO candidate’s impressive margin of victory underscores the fact an effort to acquire the top ICA post may have already begun. It would certainly need long preparations but it does not look impossible.
