Ex-MLA Rajesh Patil elected Gokul Chairman as MahaYuti prevails in high-stakes election

Kolhapur: Breaking a 15-day political impasse triggered by a lack of quorum, the MahaYuti alliance on Tuesday asserted its claim over the leadership of the Kolhapur District Co-operative Milk Producers' Union (popularly known as Gokul), electing former Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA Rajesh Patil as the new Chairman of Gokul Dairy.

Election Returning Officer Mosami Chougule chaired the meeting.

The contest for the top post saw a head-to-head clash between Shashikant Patil-Chuyekar -- representing Congress leader Satej Patil’s Rajarshi Shahu Shetkari Samvichari Ahadhi -- and former MLA Rajesh Patil, fielded by the MahaYuti-backed Chhatrapati Shahu Shetkari Vikas Aghadi.

Out of the total voting pool, 25 elected directors and 4 government-nominated directors exercised their franchise. Rajesh Patil secured victory with a 16-13 vote margin. All four state-nominated directors cast their votes in favor of the MahaYuti candidate.

The BJP MP Dhananjay Mahadik told reporters, "The results have just come out. Rajesh Patil has won by securing 16 votes. Given the deadlock formed, it was never possible for the Maha Vikas Aghadi's chairman to get elected. Those people were unnecessarily spreading a false narrative. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis worked to resolve that deadlock," adding, "I would just like to tell the opposition that God stands behind policy and destiny, and we witnessed that very outcome today. I also congratulate Rajesh Patil."

Mahadik stated that they had decided that the Kolhapur district's milk union should not become a "D Y Patil Milk Union."

He also mentioned that for the first year, the president will be from the NCP, and they will hold a meeting regarding the post next year to take a decision.

Rajesh Narsingrao Patil is a former NCP MLA who previously represented the Chandgad assembly constituency in Kolhapur district. He is known as a trusted lieutenant of the former Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and Cabinet Minister Hasan Mushrif.

In the 2024 assembly elections, he suffered a defeat against BJP rebel candidate Shivaji Patil. His father, the late Narsingrao Gurunath Patil, was also a prominent legislator.

The foundational elections for the Gokul Milk Federation were held on October 18, with the results announced on October 19.

Satej Patil’s Samvichari Aghadi secured 13 out of the 25 elected seats, while the MahaYuti-backed Vikas Aghadi won 12 seats.

Since neither side held the mandatory quorum independently to form the board, the MahaYuti government appointed 5 state-nominated directors, granting voting rights to four of them. Satej Patil challenged the state government’s decision to grant voting power to nominated members.

However, the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court on Monday directed the election to proceed as scheduled on November 10, stipulating that the overall process remains subject to the court's final ruling.

Earlier, thousands of farmers, dairy producers, and opposition leaders converged on Dasra Chowk on Monday for a massive 'Sangharsh Morcha' (Struggle March).

Organised amidst the festive backdrop of Diwali, the rally targeted the state government's controversial ordinance enabling the appointment of government-nominated directors with voting rights to institutions with turnovers exceeding Rs 500 crore -- a move they charge is explicitly engineered to capture control of the Rs 3,000-crore Gokul Milk Union (Kolhapur District Cooperative Milk Producers' Union).

They further alleged that by granting voting rights to four of these nominees, the ruling MahaYuti alliance is attempting to engineer a majority to capture the chairmanship of the cooperative dairy.

The protest was led by Congress MLA Satej Patil and former MP Raju Shetti. Leaders from the Kolhapur District Bar Association and local lawyers had also joined the demonstration in solidarity.

Organisers stressed that Gokul is not merely a dairy union, but a symbol of the self-respect and livelihood of Kolhapur's farming community.

"This is an attack on democratic values," said Satej Patil during the march.

"Attempting to seize control through government-nominated directors bypasses the mandate of the democratically elected board of directors and smothers the voice of local dairy farmers."

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