NCCF election is hotting up. The election which is scheduled for 7th August will elect 11 board members as directors. The Chairman would be selected from them on the same day. It is perhaps only apex level cooperative which has no representation from state level federations. The directors come from primary level societies, many of which needs probe in the genuineness of its existence.
According to grapevine the fight for the position of Chairmanship is basically between the incumbent Chairman Virendra Singh and Nafed Chairman Mr Bijender Singh. Mr Bijender Singh happens to be one of the directors in outgoing board of NCCF. The name of Vishal Singh, son of ate Ajit Singh is also doing rounds as a candidate for Chairmanship. But Indian cooperative has come to know that he will be pitted against Virendra Singh just to pave way for some body else owing to his young age and lack of experience.
Mr V P Singh, advisor with Kribhco is the returning officer. He was earlier marketing director in Kribhco. Getting two extensions after retirement he was later made advisor in the Kribhco. He also happens to be with NCCF and has thus been made returning officer of the crucial election.
Returning officers are very powerful in the sense that it is upon him to accept or reject nominations. Cooperative elections are closely guarded game where “outsiders” are generally not allowed to participate. Nomination from an inconvenient cooperator is never brought into record thus denying him even a chance to go to court.
GC Gupta has recently taken over as MD of NCCF after the Jharkhand cadre IAS officer Mr R K Srivastava hastened to leave. Indian cooperative effort to contact Gupta drew blank as he excused himself of being “too busy and too new” to comment on the activities going on in NCCF.
Readers will be surprised to know that for the last over three decades NCCF though representing the consumer sector, has not provided supply support to the consumer cooperatives of any commodity or item.
