Bihar, which had no member in the Board of the apex co-op body NCUI in the last elections, has got two members elected to the GC this time. They are Biscomaun Chairman Sunil Kumar Singh and Vishal Singh, the son of late Ajit Singh.
While Sunil’s entry was a foregone conclusion, the last-minute co-option of Vishal despite Sunil’s resistance would usher in a new era in state cooperative politics, insiders say.
Interestingly, both Sunil and Vishal are close to the duo of Chandra pal and Bijender Singh, who have found it very tough to balance the two Biharis. When Chandra Pal asked Vishal to quit the race in favour of West Bengal’s candidate, nobody knew what was in his mind.
The uncertainty ended when Bijender Singh named Vishal along with Arun Tomar as the two co-opted Directors in the first Board meeting of the GC.
It is a well-known fact that Sunil and Vishal are rivals at the state level. While Sunil controls the marketing co-op federation Biscomaun, Vishal has the state co-op union in his control. Vinay Sahi, the Chairman is his man, say sources.
Vishal supporters say that with him occupying a seat in the GC, his influence in the state co-op politics is going to increase in the course of time. How far this will happen, only time can tell.
Talking to Indian Cooperative Vishal Singh said that there are lot of works to be done at the state level. “We intend to intensify co-op training and move in tandem with the state govt”, he added.