Election for chairman of NCDFI postponed

Elections for appointing the chairman of the National Cooperative Dairy Federation of India (NCDFI) has been postponed with five of the 11 nominations, including that of sitting chairman, Verghese Kurien, being rejected during the election process at Anand town.

Officials in charge of the process said the nominations of the six candidates were rejected yesterday for various technical reasons and that due to this confusion the election for the chairman would be held at a later date.

"Many allegations have been made by candidates whose nominations were rejected but the department has to follow set procedures. Moreover, even Kurien's term as the chairman of NCDFI has expired as he occupied the post for two years," Director of Registrar of State Cooperative Department S K Anand said.

NCDFI is an important body as it is directly linked with 11 million dairy farmers of India.

Unfazed by the setback, the Kurien camp said it would take the matter into arbitration before the central registrar of cooperatives or even move the respective state high courts.

"This election was a violation of the Multi-State Cooperatives Act, under which this process is held. The whole election process was held in a vicious atmosphere and even the returning officer was helpless," Joseph, personal assistant to Kurien said.

The nominations of candidates of boards of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka were rejected yesterday.