Gokul Dairy’s control dispute has escalated in Kolhapur, with Congress MLA Satej Patil announcing a protest march on November 9 against the Maharashtra government’s decision to appoint additional members to cooperative managing committees. Patil said the move was intended to take control of the Kolhapur District Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union, commonly known as Gokul Dairy.
The march will begin at Dasara Chowk and proceed to the district collector’s office, according to Patil. He described the issue as an attack on the mandate of Kolhapur’s milk producers and said the legal battle would continue alongside the public agitation.
The announcement followed elections to Gokul Dairy, in which a panel backed by Patil won 13 of the 25 seats, while the panel supported by the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti secured 12 seats, Patil said. The election of the dairy’s chairman was subsequently postponed after the 12 opposition directors did not attend the meeting, citing a technical issue related to quorum.
Patil’s side then approached the Bombay High Court. According to his account, the court directed that notices be issued to all 25 directors and that the chairman’s election be held on November 10. He also said the government had agreed before the court to conduct the election among the existing 25 directors.
The dispute intensified after the state cabinet decided on Wednesday to appoint four additional directors with voting rights and issued an ordinance. Patil alleged that the decision was designed to alter the balance of power at Gokul Dairy. “The government brought in this law only to take control of Gokul. I condemn this conspiracy,” he said.
The government had also approved the appointment of five government-nominated members to the managing committees of cooperative institutions with an annual turnover of more than Rs 500 crore. Patil linked that decision to the Gokul dispute, although the report does not include a response from the state government to his allegations.
Gokul Dairy’s scale makes the contest significant for the cooperative’s milk suppliers. Patil said the dairy collects around 20 lakh litres of milk each day from nearly 5.5 lakh farmers and pays them about Rs 100 crore every 10 days. These figures were cited by Patil and were not independently verified in the supplied report.
Patil also alleged that the move formed part of a broader effort to bring milk cooperatives across states under a common structure. He referred to the proposed expansion of the Sardar Milk Federation and cited opposition to a similar attempt involving Karnataka’s Nandini brand. The supplied report does not provide further details of those proposals.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi backed Patil in a post on X. Gandhi said milk producers had defeated the BJP and accused the party of changing the rules after the election to “steal the majority”. The next immediate milestones are the November 9 protest march and the proposed November 10 chairman’s election, subject to the ongoing legal proceedings.
