Change of guard likely at GCCI soon

AHMEDABAD: Gujarat’s beleaguered apex trade and industry body Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry may soon see a change of guard with a meeting of the executive committee finally scheduled for August 5, 2003. According to sources, the main agenda of the meeting would be to appoint an interim president to head the troubled organisation, being currently headed by Mahendra Shah, whose term has already expired on June 30, 2003.
The decision to hold the executive committee meeting, which was last held in since September 2002, comes amid mounting pressure on Shah from members to restore democratic processes and put the house in order.In fact, sources point out, with the date of the meeting being finalised various groups have already kicked off hectic lobbying among committee members to capture the hot seat, with four names currently doing the rounds.
One of the most prominent among them being that of Zydus Cadila group chairman Pankaj Patel, who is also an executive committee member. Also understood to be in the race is its former President Utkarsh Shah, who headed the chamber in 1998-99, and is trying to garner support of existing committee members to grab the top spot. Other names being tossed around are that of committee members Paru Mrugesh, from prominent industrialist Jaikrishna Harival-labhdas family, and Sahitya Mudranalaya managing director Shreyas Pandya.