Pune: The Maharashtra state government has decided to postpone the elections of cooperative societies across the state until December 31, 2024.

This decision was made because officials and staff from the Cooperative Department will be involved in work related to the upcoming legislative elections.

The delay affects the ongoing election process for thousands of cooperative societies, with 29,429 cooperative elections pending for the 2024-25 term, and 7,109 already in progress.

Earlier, in June 2024, the government had delayed the elections until September 30 due to the monsoon. The State Cooperative Election Authority had planned to resume the election process from October 1.

However, with the legislative election work now taking precedence, the Cooperative Department has issued a new order, postponing the elections until December 31.

The recent directive, issued by Deputy Secretary of the Cooperative Department, Anil Choudhary, specifically impacts 3,048 cooperative societies in Pune, with 828 societies in the city and 2,220 in rural areas.

Certain cooperative societies are excluded from this postponement. These include cooperative housing societies with 250 or fewer members, societies where court orders mandate elections, and societies where only the selection of president or vice president remains after the completion of the election process.

For all other societies, the elections will be halted at their current stage until further notice. This delay highlights the overlap of administrative responsibilities, as the state prepares for the larger and more immediate legislative elections, diverting manpower and resources away from other ongoing processes.