Why politics over Gokul Milk, Maharashtra's biggest dairy cooperative, is on the boil
Leaders of the ruling Mahayuti alliance are keen on ensuring that the chairman of Gokul is a Mahayuti nominee, given that elections to panchayat samitis, zilla parishads, and urban local bodies are scheduled to be held this year. The Mahayuti comprises the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
The tug-of-war is over gaining control of Gokul Milk, formally known as Kolhapur District Cooperative Milk Producers Union, which is considered to be Maharashtra's biggest dairy cooperative that supplies milk in large quantities in cities like Mumbai and Pune.
Mumbai: Ahead of local body elections across Maharashtra, a new political battle is brewing over milk, with Kolhapur as its epicentre.
The cooperative is currently governed by a panel led by Congress's Satej Patil and NCP (Ajit Pawar) leader Hasan Mushrif, who is a minister in the Mahayuti government, but also holds a power centre in Kolhapur in his own right. Patil is a member of the Maharashtra Legislative Council.
The ruling alliance's plans threaten the political clout of the two stalwarts. Moreover, the Mahayuti's interest in having its own chairman at Gokul has thrown a wrench in the arrangement that Mushrif had with Patil, when a panel led by the two leaders won the cooperative elections in 2021.
According to the arrangement, the chairman of the cooperative is supposed to change every two years. But the current chairman Arun Dongale, who is due to resign, has refused to do so, citing an alleged direct request by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Shinde.
The Gokul cooperative handles over Rs 60 crore litres of milk every year. In 2023-24, it posted an annual turnover of Rs 3,640.09 crore. It also has several products under the Gokul brand, such as lassi, shrikhand, ghee, butter and paneer, which are popular across the state. Control over the cooperative gives political heft across Kolhapur district.
Vasant Bhosale, a Kolhapur-based political commentator, told ThePrint, 'The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) doesn't want to lose control over the institution, and the Mahayuti wants to get control over it as it is economically very powerful. It has a turnover of more than Rs 4,000 crore now, and every village in the Kolhapur district has at least two-three milk producing groups in the Gokul network. All of this helps mobilise support on the ground for local elections.'
Also Read: Why Maharashtra wants focus on urban population as metric for fund devolution under Finance Commission
The political battle at Gokul
Mushrif and Patil had collaborated for the 2021 elections for Gokul dairy cooperative, and their arrangement to change the chairman every two years, has by and large been the norm thus far.
Both leaders were part of the MVA back in 2021. The alliance then comprised the Congress, the undivided Shiv Sena and undivided NCP. Subsequently, both Shiv Sena and NCP split, and Mushrif went on to side with the Ajit Pawar-led faction, part of the Mahayuti.
Vishwas Patil, the first chairman of Mushrif and Patil's panel, resigned in 2023 to make way for the second nominee, Arun Dongale, who was supposed to resign this month to make way for a new chairman.
However, on Thursday, Dongale told media persons that Fadnavis and Shinde had called him for a meeting and asked him not to step down. 'The district leaders had asked me to step down, but the CM and Deputy CM are of the opinion that the chairman of Gokul should be a Mahayuti nominee. It's not so much about whether I stay on as chairman, it is about who the next chairman will be if I resign,' he said.
A senior BJP leader from Kolhapur, who did not wish to be named, said that if the chairman changes now, Congress's Patil will ensure that he appoints his nominee, who will not be a Mahayuti loyalist. 'With regards to Mushrif, he has his own political capital in the district to protect, so he wants Dongale to tender his resignation as was decided and ordered by him,' the leader added.
Mushrif told reporters Friday that cooperatives function differently in Maharashtra and that there shouldn't be any 'politics or unethical competition' in the functioning of these bodies.
'Four years ago, when our panel won the election against the incumbent board, it was decided that Vishwasrao Patil will be the chairman for two years, Dongale will be the chairman for two years, and for the fifth year, all leaders will sit together and decide who the chairman should be. Patil tendered his resignation when he had to, but Dongale refused at the last minute. I will still request him, as decided, to put in his resignation,' said Mushrif, who holds the medical education portfolio in the state cabinet.
He added that there would be no differences with the CM or Deputy CM.
'I am a part of Mahayuti, the CM could have told me what he wants. We are in Mumbai three days a week. We will tell them who we are planning to appoint as chairman…I am clearly saying that in cooperatives, like Gokul, which is the number one in the state, there should be no politics. And we still have time to strengthen parties ahead of local body elections. We will focus on getting more mayors, zilla parishads, municipal councils,' he said.
Gokul's political history
Dhananjay Mahadik, Rajya Sabha MP and BJP leader from Kolhapur, told ThePrint that Gokul's management has never been on party lines, and that for 30 years, the cooperative union was managed by supporters of BJP's Mahadev Mahadik and Congress's P.N. Patil.
'Before this, rather than looking at parties and groups, Mahadik saheb, P.N. Patil saheb came together to provide good governance. After the MVA government came, leaders here took the help of then CM (Uddhav Thackeray), and formed their own panel. That's why the cooperative has now got this form (political form). So now, it is natural that everyone will want the next chairman to be from Mahayuti,' the MP said.
Satej Patil, however, denied the allegation that he and Mushrif brought in party politics in the Gokul cooperative.
'There is no party politics in cooperatives. Typically, the CM and Deputy CM don't intervene in the happenings in a district, and I am positive they have not done so. It is possible that Dongale didn't want to step down, and met the CM of his own accord and said that he doesn't want to step down. If someone says this, the leader in front of him will not say—no, you should step down,' he said.
The next election to the cooperative is scheduled to be held early next year.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)
Also Read: After 100-day governance programme, Fadnavis' new challenge for civil servants—a 150-day programme
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
42 minutes ago
- Time of India
Ludhiana West bypoll result: Vote counting begins; 14 candidates in fray
NEW DELHI: Voting counting for the Ludhiana West assembly bypoll in Punjab commenced Monday at 8 am, following the June 19 election that was necessitated by the death of AAP MLA Gurpreet Bassi Gogi in January. The election saw 14 candidates competing, with a voter turnout of 51.33 percent. The counting process, which will consist of 14 rounds, is taking place at Khalsa College for Women under strict security arrangements. The voter participation marked a significant decline from the 64 percent turnout recorded in the 2022 Assembly polls. The main political parties contesting the bypoll were the Aam Aadmi Party, Congress, BJP, and Shiromani Akali Dal. The Aam Aadmi Party nominated Sanjeev Arora, a 61-year-old Rajya Sabha member and Ludhiana-based industrialist known for his social welfare activities. The Congress party fielded former minister and Punjab Congress working president Bharat Bhushan Ashu, 51, as their candidate. The BJP's candidate was senior leader Jiwan Gupta, a member of the party's Punjab unit core committee. The Shiromani Akali Dal chose Parupkar Singh Ghuman, a lawyer and former president of the Ludhiana Bar Association, as their representative. Officials have implemented comprehensive security measures at the counting center at Khalsa College for Women to ensure a smooth counting process.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
INS Tamal, last Indian warship built abroad, to be commissioned in Russia on July 1
NEW DELHI: The last Indian warship to be built abroad, a 3,900 tonne multi-role stealth frigate packed with sensors and weapons like BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles, will be commissioned as INS Tamal in Russia on July 1. The Navy currently has 59 warships and vessels under construction in Indian shipyards at an overall cost of around Rs 1.2 lakh crore to add to its expanding blue-water combat capabilities. It also has the initial approval or 'acceptance of necessity (AoN)' for indigenous construction of another 31 warships, including big projects for nine diesel-electric submarines, seven new-generation frigates and eight anti-submarine warfare corvettes. "The force has fully transformed from a 'Buyer's Navy' to a 'Builder's Navy' over the years. There is no plan for an Indian warship to be constructed abroad in future," a officer told TOI. The Navy, which currently has 140 warships and submarines along with over 250 aircraft and helicopters, plans to expand to around 180 warships and 350 aircraft and helicopters by 2030. This is crucial for tackling the rapidly-growing maritime collusiveness between Pakistan and China, which has the world's largest Navy with 370 warships but is currently constrained by the 'tyranny of logistics' in the Indian Ocean Region. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Memperdagangkan CFD Emas dengan salah satu spread terendah? IC Markets Mendaftar Undo The 125-metre long INS Tamal, with extended endurance, a top speed of over 30 knots and a crew of 250 sailors, will be commissioned at a ceremony presided over by Western Naval Command chief Vice Admiral Sanjay J Singh in Kaliningrad. India in Oct 2018 had inked an umbrella agreement with Russia for four upgraded Krivak-III class frigates, with the first two to be imported for around Rs 8,000 crore. The other two, Triput and Tavasya, in turn, are being built at the Goa shipyard with transfer of technology at an overall cost of around Rs 13,000 crore. The first frigate, INS Tushil, reached her home port of Karwar from Russia in Feb. These four new warships will add to the six such Russian frigates, 3 Talwar-class and 3 Teg-class warships, already inducted from 2003-2004 onwards. Designed for blue-water operations across the spectrum of naval warfare in four dimensions of air, surface, underwater and electromagnetic, these frigates are armed with a wide array of advanced weapon systems. "INS Tamal has significant upgrades over her predecessors, punching well above her weight," an officer said. Besides BrahMos missiles, the frigate has Shtil vertical launched surface-to-air missiles, an improved A190-01 100mm gun and a new age electro-optical/infrared Sandal V system. She is also equipped with a 30mm close-in weapon system, heavyweight torpedoes, urgent attack anti-submarine rockets, apart from various surveillance and fire control radars and systems.
Hans India
an hour ago
- Hans India
BRS alleges Rs 1,100 crore scam in Civil Supplies dept, vows to approach ED
Hyderabad: BRS leaders on Sunday alleged a staggering Rs 1,100 crore scam within the paddy tenders, claiming that the state government, which should have received Rs 7,500 crore, secured less than half, with the remaining funds reportedly going illegally to bidders. This, they asserted, occurred because while the price was fixed at Rs 2,007 per quintal, millers were compelled to pay Rs 2,230. Addressing a press conference, BRS leader Peddi Sudarshan Reddy stated that despite alerting authorities and raising the issue in the Assembly through party MLAs, no action has been taken by the government. Sudarshan Reddy expressed suspicion over the participation of only four bidders in the tenders. He alleged that, so far, money has been collected from millers without the paddy being lifted, with cash transferred from millers to the bidders' accounts. 'We have collected 270 bank account details and sent them to the Chief Minister, Civil Supplies Minister, Civil Supplies Commissioner, the vigilance commission, and the ACB, but no action was taken. A total of Rs 7,500 crore should have reached the government treasury through these tenders. Not even half of it came. Instead of Rs 2,007 per quintal, Rs 2,230 was collected,' said Sudarshan Reddy. The BRS leader further pointed out that the High Court issued notices to the Chief Minister and the state minister, yet the government sought adjournments 16 times to file its counter. 'If you did not commit corruption, why are you seeking adjournments in the Court? Even though you filed illegal cases and summoned KCR, KTR, and Harish Rao in the name of investigation, why are Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy avoiding the court?' questioned Reddy. He further alleged that the deadline for the bidders was extended five times beyond the period specified in the tenders. Alleging that the bidders channelled Rs 1,100 crore to the Congress party, Sudarshan Reddy stated, 'We have given all the evidence to the court. Every Congress MLA got Rs 10 crore, and the civil supplies tender scam money has gone to Delhi. The MLAs were given money to ensure they do not go into despair.' He further alleged that Congress party representatives in Delhi were also involved in the civil supplies scam. He claimed that no grain was lifted anywhere except for the collection of money, and that Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy has remained silent on this scam so far. The authorities, he added, claimed that grain was being sent to the Philippines and were attempting to prematurely conclude the tender process. Demanding that Rs 1,100 crore be deposited into the Civil Supplies account, he announced that the party would lay siege to the Civil Supplies Bhavan and also approach the Enforcement Directorate (ED) regarding this alleged scam. Party leaders Errolla Srinivas, Bommera Ramamurthy, Sushila Reddy, K Kishore Goud, Y Satish Reddy, and Abhilash Rangineni were also present.
