Political Interference

2. Political Interference

One of the most serious challenges before the co-operative sector, particularly in Maharashtra, is political interference — the intrusion of politics and politicians into the working of co-operative societies.

Many large co-operatives — sugar factories, spinning mills, urban and district banks, and marketing societies — handle large sums of money, provide employment, and command the loyalty of thousands of members. This makes them attractive as a base of political power. As a result, elections to the managing committees of such societies are often fought like political battles, and control of a society becomes a stepping stone to political office rather than a means of serving members.

How political interference harms co-operatives:

• Decisions become political, not economic. Loans, appointments, purchases and contracts may be decided to please supporters or reward loyalty, rather than on sound business grounds. This leads to bad lending, over-staffing and losses.
• The democratic character is damaged. When a society becomes the personal or party fiefdom of a leader, the ordinary member's voice is lost, and the principle of democratic member control (one member, one vote) becomes a formality.
• Autonomy is lost. The principle of Autonomy and Independence requires a co-operative to be controlled by its own members; political control by outsiders directly violates this.
• Factionalism and instability. Rival political groups fighting for control lead to constant disputes, litigation, and paralysed decision-making.
• Misuse of funds. Political control has, in several cases, been linked with misuse of the society's funds and corruption. …