Chandra Pal smashes rival; wins by a landslide to emerge as ICA-AP Prez

Indian ace cooperator Dr. Chandra Pal Singh Yadav created history by winning hands down and becoming the first Indian to head ICA Asia-Pacific as its President.

Chandra Pal polled 185 votes while his rival Chitose Arai of Japan polled 83 votes. Yadav won by more than 102 votes, an unheard-of margin in international cooperative politics.

Talking to Indian Cooperative soon after the results from Seoul, Chandra Pal thanked co-operators of the Asia-Pacific region for unequivocal support, which even exceeded his staunch supporters’ expectations.

“I will work closely with fellow cooperatives and national governments for creating an enabling legal and policy framework to uphold the democratic & autonomous character of the cooperative institutions’, ” he said to Indian Cooperative.

Chandra Pal also asserted that he along with his team would work hard to strengthen the cooperative movement in the Asia Pacific Region, especially Post COVID-19 Pandemic.

“Right now I am in the ICA AP Board meeting and would call after the meeting is over”, said a beaming Chandra Pal before disconnecting the line. But he did not forget to thank co-operators from his country and named IFFCO for its unflinching support.

A grass-roots leader, Chandra Pal’s rise to the highest position of the Asia Pacific region in cooperative politics is a sign of the robust cooperative movement in the country. Starting as a small-time co-operator from Jhansi, Chandra Pal rose high and high ever since he joined co-operative politics, largely due to his accommodative nature of taking everyone on board in the pursuit of cooperative politics.

From UP cooperatives, he came to the Kribhco Board and from there he soon became NCUI President. He was at NCUI for two terms. He also represents the Board of National Agriculture Cooperative Marketing Federation (NAFED), Cooperative Bank of India (COBI), and many other State and District Level cooperative organizations.

He has contributed immensely towards the training, education, and capacity building of cooperatives.

Dr. Chandra Pal Singh Yadav was born on 19th March 1959 in Dakor village, Jalaun District, Uttar Pradesh, India in a family of freedom fighters and agriculturists. He holds M.Sc., B.Ed., L.L.B., and Ph. D. degrees.

Dr. Chandra Pal Singh Yadav has been a member of the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha of the Indian Parliament and has been on various standing committees of the Parliament.

He was also a member of the Uttar Pradesh State Legislative Assembly. Dr. Yadav has widely traveled in many countries in the world and has participated in various international seminars, meetings, events, etc.

Indian Cooperative joins others in wishing Dr. Chandra Pal Singh Yadav a fruitful term as President of ICA AP.