The National Federation of Fishermen’s Cooperative Ltd. (FISHCOPFED) has elected Prakash Lonare as its new Chairman and Jayashree Gurnaik as Vice Chairperson, following an election process that had been surrounded by legal and administrative controversy. However, the polls took place against the backdrop of a series of representations and official communications questioning the legality of the election process and seeking intervention from the Government of India. Following the award, the Office of the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies issued an Office Memorandum on July 22, forwarding the arbitration award to the Cooperative Election Authority. In his letter, Kewat urged the minister to immediately halt the election process, remove FISHCOPFED Administrator Shailendra Singh under Section 123 of the MSCS Act and appoint an independent and impartial administrator. Despite these developments and the representations made before various authorities, the FISHCOPFED election proceeded as scheduled, resulting in the election of Prakash Marotrao Lonare as Chairman and Jayashree Gurnaik as Vice Chairperson.