Under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and guidance of Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah, Cooperation Sector is moving in the right direction
Cooperative Election Authority is formed to protect the core cooperative principle of democratic control of the members of the cooperative society
Cooperative Election Authority is responsible for conducting the elections in cooperatives in a transparent manner and also oversee the electoral process in multi-state cooperative societies
CEA committed to work tirelessly to ensure that our electoral processes are free, fair, and transparent
CEA Chairperson suggests use technology for scrutiny of bye-laws so as to red flag inconsistent provision of the bye-laws and to develop collaboration with state cooperative election authorities
NEW DELHI, MARCH 12, 2025: Union Cooperation Secretary Dr. Ashish Kumar Bhutani today addressed the First Foundation Year of the Cooperative Election Authority as the Chief Guest in New Delhi. Chairman of Cooperative Election Authority (CEA), Shri Devendra Kumar Singh, Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies Shri Rabindra Kumar Agrawal, Vice Chairman of CEA Shri R K Gupta, and senior officers of the Ministry of Cooperation and heads and representatives of Multi-State Cooperative Societies attended the event.
In his address, Union Cooperation Secretary Dr. Ashish Kumar Bhutani said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and guidance of Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah, things are definitely moving in the right direction. He said that the Cooperative Election Authority (CEA) was formed after the passage of the Multi State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Act 2023, by the Parliament. He said that it was a very comprehensive amendment to the Act by the Centre and its process for amendment spanned for over 12 years. Dr. Bhutani said that the CEA is formed to protect the core cooperative principle of democratic control of the members of the cooperative society. He added that the Authority is responsible for conducting the elections in cooperatives in a transparent manner and also oversee the electoral process in multi-state cooperative societies, ensuring transparency and accountability while conducting the election in Cooperative Societies.
Dr. Ashish Bhutani said that the Authority stands to weed out vested interest, opacity in elections, and infusion of new faces into the cooperative societies. He said that there has been a new beginning with the elections being conducted under the supervision of the District Magistrates and District Collectors which has made the elections pristine and added credibility to the process. The Secretary, Ministry of Cooperation said that they are looking forward to expand the scope as well as functioning of the CEA so that they are able to smoothly conduct the upcoming elections.
Dr. Bhutani, has urged the Cooperative Election Authority to focus on training & capacity building programmes for stake holders and Returning Officers for effective implementation of the provisions of Cooperative Law. With the active involvement/participation of the members of the Cooperative Societies, the Cooperatives can achieve the cooperative principles particularly in election process.
Chairperson of CEA Shri Devendra Kumar Singh reiterated commitment of the Authority for promoting democratic governance, transparency, and accountability within cooperative societies and continue to work tirelessly to ensure that our electoral processes are free, fair, and transparent.
Shri Singh, extended his sincere thanks to Ministry of cooperation for their active support, without whose cooperation and guidance this milestone could not have been achieved.
Devendra Kumar Singh, Chairperson, CEA was of the view that during next year, Authority is visualising to conduct election of more than 170 Societies with the active involvement and support of different State Cooperative Election Authority and the Returning Officers from different state. He suggested to use technology for scrutiny of bye-laws so as to red flag inconsistent provision of the bye-laws. He also suggested to develop collaboration with state cooperative election authorities. Chairperson of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka State Cooperative Election Authority were present on this occasion.
CEA is in process of establishing and evolving itself. The Authority have issued election programme for more than 137 Societies and 100 elections for Board of Director & Office Bearers have been conducted under the supervision of Cooperative Election Authority successfully.
The Cooperative Election Authority celebrated its First Annual Day, marking a significant milestone in its journey to promote democratic governance and transparency within cooperative societies election. The Cooperative Election Authority was Notified on 11th March, 2024 with a mandate to conduct free and fair election of Multi-State Cooperative Societies. At present there are three members in the Authority.
