Mahayuti’s Rajesh Patil Elected Gokul Dairy Chairperson
The chairperson election was mired in controversy over the State Government’s decision: Reports
MUMBAI: In the much-awaited chairperson election of the Kolhapur District Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union, popularly known as GokulDairy, Rajesh Patil from the Mahayuti alliance was finally elected as the new chairperson. He secured the chairperson seat by defeating Shashikant Patil-Chuyekar of the Congress-led Samvichari alliance with a vote count of 16 to 13.
The chairperson election was mired in controversy over the State Government’s decision to appointed five nominated members, giving voting rights to four of them. In an election, which was carried out in a heavy police presence around the Gokul office, the votes of these four nominated members proved crucial, as the opposition ‘Samvichari Aghadi’ – despite having earned a clear majority through the electoral process – was effectively kept out of power.
In the five-yearly election for the 25 seats at Gokul, the ‘Samvichari Aghadi,’ an alliance led by Congress leader Satej Patil had secured a narrow majority by winning 13 seats, while the ‘Mahayuti’ alliance had to settle for 12 seats.
However, in the first meeting after the elections, only 13 directors from the Samvichari Aghadi were present, while 12 directors from the Mahayuti chose to stay away. As a result, the required quorum of 14 directors was not met, leading the Returning Officer to adjourn the meeting.
The dispute erupted following a State Cabinet decision to alter cooperative laws and appoint five nominated directors, giving voting rights to four of them, to the Gokul milk union, a move Patil alleged is designed to overturn the recent election mandate.
The decision faced intense backlash from opposition leaders as thousands of milk farmers protested against it in Kolhapur on November 9. However, the Bombay High Court refused to stay the ordinance, clearing the path for the November 10 vote.
In the chairperson election, this addition of four government nominees shifted the voting math entirely, expanding the voting pool to 29 directors. By aligning with the 12 elected Mahayuti directors, the nominees helped push Rajesh Patil to the winning mark of 16 votes.
Following this victory, Rajesh Patil expressed his commitment to the progress of ‘Gokul’ and the welfare of the dairy farmers. He also extended his gratitude to the five lakh dairy farmers and voters in the district.
Speaking after the election of the Gokul chairman, Satej Patil accused the Mahayuti Government of insulting Kolhapur and Maharashtra. He also asserted that justice would be secured through the court.