Samajwadi Party has accused the ruling BJP of high-handedness and resorting to unfair means in the co-operative elections currently underway in the most populous state of Uttar Pradesh. “It is not an election but an effort to place its men in the co-ops of the state by the BJP”, charged Shishpal Singh, senior cooperator from Hapur who is also on the board of largest fertilizer co-op federation in the world IFFCO.
Shishpal who met Shivpal Singh Yadav, former co-op minister and a senior SP leader in the state to talk about instances of the govt machinations across districts, also went to the Election Commission bringing before it scores of cases of utter lawlessness witnessed in the election process. “I will go again making a list of complaints in writing as advised by the Commission”, said Shishpal to Indian Cooperative.
Still dragging at the primary level, the co-op election process for the district level including DCCBs and others are still to be completed in the state. Meanwhile, at numerous places the process of elections and nominations are cancelled arbitrarily.
“In Shivpalji’s constituency nominations for three seats were cancelled and so was the case in Jhansi in the constituency of Chandra Pal Singh Yadav”, informed Shishpal. They do so whenever they find that their “men” would fail to win, Shishpal said accusing the BJP.
“It is a sarkari chunav and not a sahkari chunav”, he chose chaste Hindi to express his disgust. The reasons they cite for cancelling elections are also laughable; they say the law and order is not conducive. This is when the Prime Minister dreams of holding simultaneous elections across the nation, Shishpal wondered.
It bears recall that elections in more than 50 thousand registered co-op societies are currently underway in UP with the completion of elections in primary credit societies at village and panchayat levels. The next is at the level of block known as Union Cooperative Federation. Later, elections for District Cooperative Federations and District Central Cooperative Banks would take place.
The exercise is staggered for several months. The elections to the state apex co-op bodies such as PCF, Pradeshik Consumer Co-op Federation or Labour co-op federation and others would take place in May-June.
