We Bankers National Elections 2025: Online Voting and Post-Poll Dispute Explained

How the Online Voting Worked
While speaking to Kanal, Hemant Sharma, the newly elected National President of All India We Bankers Association (AIWBA), explained the process of the online voting system.

The process was as follows:

• The link was sent by Right2Vote, a government-approved external agency hired for conducting the election.
   
• The agency was given the official voter list and charged ₹30,000 for managing the process. Payment was made online, and the union has the receipt for the same.
   
• Once a member clicked on the link, login was authenticated through their email ID.
   
• At the same time, an OTP was sent to the registered email ID.
   
• After entering the OTP, the voter accessed a multiple-choice ballot paper containing the names of candidates contesting for various posts.
   
• Voters selected their candidates and submitted the vote electronically.
   
• The voting window remained open from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM, after which the results were compiled. By 6:30 PM, the official results were declared.

The process was coordinated between the agency and the union by Election Officer Vijay Kumar Khanna, former General Manager of Punjab National Bank (PNB).

Image: Some examples of different registered email IDs used to vote in the OTP-based online voting system during the WeBankers National Elections through the Right2Vote platform

Election Results

Workmen Association
National President – Hemant Sharma (PNB, Alwar, Rajasthan)

National General Secretary – Deval Mishra (Bank of Baroda, Kanpur – elected unopposed

Senior National Vice President – Venu Madhav (Union Bank, Sijlipelli, Andhra Pradesh)

National Treasurer – Gaurav Gupta (Canara Bank, Baghpat)

Senior National Deputy General Secretary – Shafali Jain (Bank of Baroda, Jammu)

National Joint General Secretary – Pankaj Dubey (PNB, Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh)

National Organizing Secretary – Sunil Kumar (PNB, Kurukshetra, Haryana)

Officers Association
National President – Ghanshyam Verma (Bank of Baroda, New Delhi)

National General Secretary – Praveen Kumar Biswas (PNB, Kolkata, West Bengal)

National Treasurer – Shiv Prakash (Bank of Baroda, Gujarat)

Press Release on Election Transparency
On 15 September 2025, the United Forum of We Bankers issued an official press release rebutting allegations of irregularities in the election. The statement emphasised that the voting process was conducted in a fair, transparent, and modern manner through an OTP-based secure e-voting system supervised by Right2Vote. The release clarified that all payments to the agency were legal and valid, and it appealed to members to reject rumors and uphold the democratic mandate of the voters.


Image: Official press release by United Forum of We Bankers clarifying election transparency and rejecting allegations of irregularities

Hemant Sharma Defends Democratic Process Amid Allegations
The AIWBA National President told Kanal in an exclusive comment that “The controversy, as noted in the press release, was mainly about objections raised by a few former office-bearers questioning the online voting process.”

He remarked that “Whenever something is conducted correctly, some issues also tend to arise.  On 23 March 2025, it was decided that every registered member of We Bankers would have the right to vote. This decision was formally approved during a meeting held in Kanpur on 13 April 2025.”

He further noted that “While former office-bearers like Ashish Mishra and Rahul Mishra had objections, the organisation’s focus remains on safeguarding the interests of its members and ensuring that genuine, dedicated workers come forward to lead.”

Vision for Banking Reforms
Prabin Kumar Biswas, the newly elected National General Secretary of All India We Bankers Officer’s Association (AIWBOA), told Kanal that his key focus during his tenure of 1.5 years will be to eradicate toxic work culture in the banking industry and push for HR policy reforms. He emphasised creating a friendly banking environment for both employees and customers.

Organisational Demands
We Bankers has clarified that it is not affiliated with UFBU. The organisation’s main demands include:

Formation of a separate Pay Commission for bankers (Bankers Pay Commission – BPC), similar to the Central Pay Commission for government employees.

Implementation of 5-day banking.

The union has also been pursuing the matter legally. A meeting with the Chief Labour Commissioner (CLC) is scheduled on 16 September 2025, where representatives of all banks, including the Reserve Bank of India, are expected to attend.

The We Bankers national elections 2025 marked a significant step in the modernisation of trade union practices with the adoption of OTP-based online secret voting. While the process faced objections from some former office-bearers, the union and its leadership have maintained that the elections were fair, transparent, and in line with democratic values. With results declared on the same day and official clarifications issued, the focus of We Bankers now shifts to addressing core organisational demands such as the formation of a Bankers Pay Commission and the implementation of five-day banking.