Elections for 29,429 Cooperative Societies in Maharashtra to Be Held in Early 2025
Maharashtra is set to hold elections for 29,429 cooperative societies in early 2025, following delays caused by the state Assembly Elections.
The Co-operative Election Authority (CEA) is expected to announce the official election schedule in the first week of January 2025. As part of the preparations, the CEA has instructed the concerned cooperative societies to finalize their voter lists. For societies that have already submitted their voter lists, the election program will be announced by December 31, 2024.
The CEA had initially begun planning these elections on October 1, 2024, after the conclusion of the Lok Sabha elections. However, the Assembly Elections caused unforeseen delays, as many officers and employees from the cooperative department were engaged in election-related duties. Now that the Assembly elections have concluded, the CEA is ready to proceed with the much-awaited cooperative society elections.
The elections will cover a total of 29,443 cooperative societies in the state, divided into four categories: 42 in Class A, 1,716 in Class B, 12,250 in Class C, and 15,435 in Class D. Elections for 7,109 societies had already commenced before the postponement, including housing societies with 250 or fewer members and those under court orders (Supreme Court or High Court) to hold elections. For these societies, elections were completed up to the appointment of chairmen and vice-chairmen, and the CEA is now seeking updates from these societies on whether these appointments have been finalized.
“Once the voter lists are fully updated, elections for the remaining societies will begin early in the new year. District-level officials have been instructed to expedite this process,” confirmed CEA Commissioner Anil Kawde, adding that the elections will proceed promptly after receiving orders from the state government.
With the election process now back on track, cooperative societies across Maharashtra are preparing for a significant phase in their governance and management.
