The publication of the list after scrutiny of nomination papers for the elections of the board of the directors of IFFCO on Thursday, has made the outgoing Chairman Dileep Sanghani a clear winner in the election.
Three more of the outgoing Directors from State Co-op Marketing Federations have made it to the list. They are Balmiki Tripathy from UP Fed, P P Nagi Reddy from Andhra Pradesh Federation and Rajendra Kumar from Karnataka Federation.
There were 10 nominations from state co-op federation constituencies for the 8 board positions. Two nominations have been rejected after scrutiny. The new Directors who have won uncontested for the first time from State Co-op Marketing Federations are Alok Kumar Singh from MP Federation, J Ganesan from Haryana, Maraganga Reddy from Telangana and Sudhansh Pant from Rajasthan state co-op marketing federation.
The two nominations- one by Amanadeep Mohie of Punjab State Cooperative Supply & Marketing Federation and the other by Siva Muthukumarasamy of Tamil Nadu Cooperative Marketing Federation were rejected during scrutiny. There were issues with names and signatures of proposers and seconders in these rejected nominations, sources say.
Another clear winner seems to be Vivek Kolhe of Sahakar Ratna Shankarrao Kolhe Shetkari Sahakari Sangh. The two nominations filed from Maharashtra-Goa-Telangana constituency, one by Nakul Kadu was rejected during scrutiny due to false signatures of proposer or seconder.
A total of 97 nominations were filed by 50 candidates but after scrutiny the nominations of 42 candidates were found valid.
Today, that is Friday, 3 May 2024 is the day for withdrawal of nomination papers and the final list of candidates in the fray will be out in the evening.
It is said that the outgoing vice-chairman Balvir Singh is also likely to win uncontested as of the three nominations filed, the nomination of Aditya Kumar has been rejected and that Vijay Sharma of Mau Jilla Sahakari Federation is likely to withdraw in Balvir Singh’s favour.
Taking these developments into account it is clear that 13 seats out of 21 have already been decided. There seems, however, to be a keen contest in the remaining seats. Besides women constituencies, the constituencies of West Bengal-Odisha, Karnataka, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh are likely to see voting.
A strong fight can be seen for a seat reserved for a woman, as all four nominations were found valid in scrutiny. The women candidates are Rupali Vighne, Sadhana Jadhav, Saroj Kharra and Varsha L. Kasturkar.
From the West Bengal-Odisha constituency, Simachal Padhy is seeking next term as whereas a first time candidate Santimoy Dey has also filed his papers. Again, there may be an interesting fight from Karnataka as heavyweights like K Srinivasa Gowda and Annasaheb Jolle have filed their papers against each other.
In Gujarat, the state unit of BJP allowed Gujcomasol Vice-Chairman Bipin Patel to contest but the outgoing director Jayesh Radadiya is not ready to listen and has filed his papers. A contest may take place leading to heartburns within the BJP family.
Similar challenges also confront Amit Singh in the Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh constituency, where four more candidates are contesting. They are NCUI GC Member Arun Singh Tomar, Kaushal Sharma, Rishiraj Sisodia and Shashikant Dwivedi.
The IFFCO board consists of 21 directors, out of which eight are to be elected from state cooperative marketing federations, 12 from general seats, and one from a women reserved seat.
The election for the Board of Directors will take place on May 9th, 2024, with the counting of votes and declaration of results scheduled for the same day. The election of office bearers is also slated for May 9th, 2024, following the declaration of results of the board members’ election. It bears recalling that the current election is being conducted by the Election Authority and a Returning Officer appointed by the Centre is being assisted by two Assistant ROs.