Election of Chairman and Vice-Chairman

(1) The Chairman shall be elected by the persons who are qualified for voting in the election of representatives of agriculturists and traders in the prescribed manner: Provided that no person shall be eligible for election as Chairman unless he is qualified for being elected under sub-section (2) and (3) of section 11B. (2) The office of the Chairman shall be reserved for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes and the proportion of the number of such reserved offices to the total number of such offices in the State shall, as far as possible, be the same as the proportion of the population of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes in the State to the total population of the State and such offices shall be allotted by the Managing Director for the mandi committees in the prescribed manner. (3) Twenty-five percent of the total number of offices of Chairman shall be reserved for the Other Backward Classes and such offices shall be allotted by the Managing Director in the prescribed manner to those mandi committees which are not reserved for the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes. (4) Not less than one-third of the total number of offices of the Chairman reserved under sub-section (2) and (3) shall be reserved for women of the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes or the Other Backward Classes, as the case may be. (5) Not less than one-third (including the number of offices reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes) of the total number of offices of Chairman in the State shall be reserved for women and such offices shall be allotted by the Managing Director for different mandi committees in the prescribed manner. (6) No person shall be eligible to contest for the post of Chairman and member simultaneously. (7) If any mandi area fails to elect a Chairman, new election proceedings to fill that post shall be initiated within six months: Provided that further process of constitution of mandi committee shall not be stopped during the pendency of the election of the Chairman: Provided further that during the pendency of the election of the Chairman under this sub-section, the Vice-Chairman shall discharge all the functions of the Chairman. (8) There shall be a Vice-Chairman of the Mandi Committee who shall be elected by the elected members of the Mandi Committee and from amongst them in the prescribed manner at the first meeting of the Mandi Committee called under sub-section (1) of section 13: Provided that if the Chairman of the Mandi Committee does not belong to the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes or Other Backward Classes, the Vice-Chairman shall be elected from amongst the elected members of such castes or tribes or classes: Provided further that no person shall be eligible for election as Vice-Chairman unless he is an agriculturist. (9) Every election of the Chairman and Vice-Chairman shall be notified by the Collector in the Gazette.