The revival of the beleaguered Madhavpura Mercantile Co-operative Bank will be expedited if the Congress party comes into power at the Centre, said the chairman of the bank, Jairambhai Patel.

Patel, who is a former Congress leader and state home minister from 1962 to 1971, said normally a new government speeds up several projects and expects the central government to work more closely with the state government in reviving MMCB.

"A revival package is already being implemented for the bank. However, we expect this process to get an impetus with a new government in place. What is more important is that there is an overall consensus between the two major parties -- the Congress and the BJP -- over the revival roadmap," Jairambhai Patel said on Friday.

Patel said the revival of the bank is not just important for the bank itself, but for some 50 or 60 other smaller banks too.

When asked whether the state government was earnest in the revival of the bank, Patel said, "The role of the state government has been very supportive till date and we have faced no hurdle in Gandhinagar. The only thing is that with a new guard at the Centre, these issues will be addressed in a far more focused and forceful manner."

MMCB ran into rough weather in March 2001 when the Reserve Bank of India withdrew it from the clearing-house after a preliminary inquiry revealed that the bank was facing a major liquidity crunch and was in the eye of the pay order scam involving Ketan Parikh.

The bank was established on October 10, 1968 to cater to the varied financial needs of the wholesale grocery traders in Madhavpura.

It received the scheduled-bank status in the late '90's, which allowed the bank to expand its banking operations and start lending to stock-brokers.

The scheduled bank status also allowed the bank to invest 10 per cent of its net worth in the capital markets.

The bank faced its worst crisis on March 8, 2001, when there was run on bank following reports that the bank had given a huge bank guarantee to Ketan Parikh and as a result the bank was left with very little cash.

The crisis forced RBI to step in and take some action to limit the damage.

An inquiry by the Reserve Bank of India showed that that the bank had a severe liquidity crisis.

The RBI recommended the Registrar of Co-operative Banks to supersede the board of the bank.

At present, MMCB has to repay depositors a sum of Rs 200 crore  (Rs 2 billion) and Rs 800 crore (Rs 8 billion) to other banks.