CEA Holds First Consultative Meeting with State Cooperative Election Authorities in New Delhi

New Delhi, August 11 — The Cooperative Election Authority (CEA) today held its first consultative meeting with State Cooperative Election Authorities to develop a regular dialogue mechanism ensuring free, fair, and transparent elections in cooperative bodies. The meeting, chaired by CEA Chairperson Devendra Kumar Singh, saw participation from State Election Commissioners of Odisha, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Maharashtra, along with CEA Vice Chairperson R. K. Gupta, Cooperative Ombudsman Alok Agarwal, and Joint Secretary, Ministry of Cooperation, Anand Kumar Jha.

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and guidance of Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah, the government has introduced multiple reforms in the cooperative sector, including establishing the CEA in March 2024. Since then, the authority has conducted 159 cooperative elections and is overseeing 69 more.

Key discussions included framing a Code of Conduct for candidates, setting an upper limit on election expenditure, publishing a handbook for Returning Officers, and rules for electing delegates from member cooperative societies to national cooperative bodies. States also proposed introducing Electronic Voting Machines in cooperative elections.

The meeting addressed matters related to share capital of members, use of candidate symbols, and application of indelible ink. The CEA will convene consultative meetings every three months to drive reforms.

Participants included senior officials such as Srikanta Prusty (Odisha), Girish Shankar and Kumar Shant Rakshit (Bihar), Thiru Dayanand Kataria (Tamil Nadu), Anil Mahadeo Kawade and Ashok Gade (Maharashtra), and Shri G. Shrivinas Rao (Telangana).