The veteran cooperator from Nashik (Maharashtra) Vishwas Thakur has been elected unopposed as the Chairman of Maharashtra State Cooperative Banks Association along with his deputy Vasant Ghuikhedkar, in an election held on Thursday.
His name was proposed by Gulabrao Devkar and seconded by Subhash Joshi. Thakur replaced Mukund Kamalakar.
It is reported that Nagpur Nagarik Sahakari Bank Chairman Sanjay Bhende had also the desire to run for Chairman but later on he changed his mind and extended his support to Thakur.
As soon as the names of top functionaries were announced, the other elected directors of the association garlanded them.
Later on talking to the Indian Cooperative correspondent Thakur thanked the board members for reposing faith on him and for giving a big responsibility. “We will work together to take the association to newer heights and will raise the issues pertaining to the cooperative banking sector”, he said, who was also on the board of Nafcub.
“We will organize training programs for the officials and the board of directors of cooperative banks. Besides, we are planning to hold a mega cooperative banking conference in Nashik in December 2023 and will start the planning”, Thakur informed who is also the founder Chairman of Vishwas Cooperative Bank.
The newly elected Vice-Chairman Vasant Ghuikhedkar is also the Vice-Chairman of Yavatmal District Central Cooperative Bank. It bears recalling that Ghuikhedkar fought the election to the Maharashtra State Assembly on an NCP ticket from Digras constituency in 2014 but lost it.
Readers would recall that in the elections of the board of directors, the Sahakar Bharti Panel won 18 out of 21 seats.
The other directors are Supriya Patil, Roopa Desia, Yogini Pokhle, Jagannath Bingewar, Kailash Jain, Rajendra Suryavanshi, Mukund Kamalakar, Rajendra Mohale, Ravinder Durgakar, Sanjay Bhende, Madhusudan Pati, Dilip chavan, Siddharth Kamble, Digambar Durgade, Gulabrao Devkar, Arjunrao Gade, Subhash Joshi, Bhau Kad and Pranchit Pareddywar
Interestingly, both the newly elected Chairmen of Maharashtra UCBs Federation Ajay Barmecha and Maharashtra State Co-op Banks Association hail from Nashik.
The term of the board will be of five years.
The association is the apex body of Maharashtra’s State Cooperative Banks, Urban Cooperative Banks and District Central Cooperative Banks. Interestingly, Maharashtra’s former Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar had headed the association in 1998.
The association had received the guidance of eminent people from the country like R.G.Saraiya , V. L. Mehta , D. R. Gadgil, D. G. Karve and Vasantdada Patil who were able and devoted public and co-operative spirited men.
