Daijiworld Media Network – Bangalore (SP)

Bangalore, May 1: Manjunath Gowda from Shimoga has been elected as the president of Karnataka State Cooperative Apex Bank Ltd, while Chokkabasavanagowda from Bellary was chosen as its vice-president. Both of them were unanimously elected to the posts on Friday April 30.

As both the posts have gone to the BJP leaders, the party has succeeded in wresting the management of the bank. Chairman of South Canara District Central Cooperative Bank Ltd, M N Rajendra Kumar, had been functioning as the president of the apex Bank since April 2005.

The election was held under the presidentship of senior director of the Bank, Gurupadappa Nagamarapalli. Minister for cooperation, Lakshman Savadi, and social welfare minister, D Sudhakar, were present.

After being elected to the post, Manjunath Gowda said that he will convene a meeting of the chairmen and executive directors of all the district central cooperative banks in the state on May 14 to discuss the issue of implementing Vaidyanathan Committee report. He said that the schemes of the state government like providing loans to farmers at 3% per annum interest, loans to Stree Shakti self help groups at 4% and at 6% for dairying, will be affectively and actively implemented. He also pledged to work for the revival of the central cooperative banks of Kolar and Dharwad districts.