After IFFCO, it’s NAFED’s turn to elect a new board, and the process is well underway. On the last day of filing nomination papers, a total of 54 candidates filed 72 nominations, as several submitted more than one nomination. The election is slated for 21st May 2024.
It’s clear from the list that there will be no election in the federations as all the 10 federations have sent just one nomination. Similarly, the election of the outgoing Chairman Bijender Singh as a Director is also a foregone conclusion as there is no challenger from his constituency. Similarly, the nomination from NCCF and the appointment of a government nominee leave elections for two seats.
Thus, if these nominations are found to be valid in the scrutiny, 13 directors will stand elected unopposed among the 21 Board positions, and there will be a contest for the remaining 8 seats.
It bears recalling that there are many veterans in the fray. Prominent among them are Kribhco Chairman Dr. Chandra Pal Singh Yadav, former minister Mohanbhai Kundariya, Jagjeet Singh Sangwan, Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat, and Biscomaun Chairman Sunil Kumar Singh, among others.
Outgoing Chairman Bijender was lucky as he romped home from the seat reserved for North-Eastern States, including Sikkim and Apex level Marketing Societies of the Union Territories.
Kaira DCCB Chairman Tejash Kumar Patel from Gujarat is challenging Dr. Chandra Pal Singh Yadav, though earlier it was said that even UP’s Cooperation Minister would also be in the fray. Sources say it may not be difficult for Chandra Pal as among the 13 voters from this constituency, around seven to eight are going to vote for him.
Besides, seven directors are to be elected from the constituencies reserved for cooperative societies at the district level. These constituencies are divided into Western, Northern, Eastern, Southern, and Central zones. The Eastern zone is a large constituency comprising 13 states.
In this constituency, there are 556 delegates who are eligible to cast their votes. There are 39 candidates in the fray. Among those contesting are Sunil Singh, Mohanbhai Kundariya, Jagjeet Singh Sangwan, Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat, Ashok Jagtap, Gurpartap Singh, Mangi Lal Danga, Ajay Kumar Rai, and others.
The names of those who seem set to emerge victorious include outgoing Chairman Bijender Singh, NCCF Chairman Vishal Singh, Ashok Thakur Government Nominee, Sekhar Geddam from AP State Co-op Mktg Fed, Deepak Soni from Chhattisgarh Fed, Jethabhai Bharwad from Gujarat Fed, J Ganesan from Haryana Fed, Guranatha Reddy from Karnataka Fed, Alok Kumar Singh from MP Fed, Tarlok Singh from Punjab Fed, Sudhansh Pant from Rajasthan Fed, Mara Ganga Reddy from Telangana Fed, and Rakesh Gupta from UP Co-op Fed.
It’s early to comment as to who will withdraw their nominations and who will be in the final contest. The picture will be clear on 15th May 2024, when the final list of contesting candidates will be published.
The polling will be held on 21st May 2024 at the NCUI Auditorium, and the counting of votes and declaration of results will be announced on the same day. The meeting of the newly elected Board of Directors of NAFED will begin at 10:00 am on 22nd May 2024 to elect the office-bearers at the NCUI’s meeting hall.