The Maharashtra cabinet on Wednesday, November 4, approved the appointment of five government-nominated members to the managing committees of cooperative institutions, with four of the nominees entitled to vote in board proceedings. The decision has triggered a major political row over the Kolhapur District Cooperative Milk Producers' Union, popularly known as Gokul Dairy, one of western Maharashtra's most influential dairy cooperatives.

Source: Nation Press

In the Gokul board elections held on October 19, the Rajarshi Shahu Shetkari Samvichari Aghadi, backed by Congress MLC Satej Patil, won 13 of the 25 seats, while the ruling Mahayuti alliance won 12. Electing a president requires a quorum of 14 directors, and the chairman's post has remained vacant because election meetings have not reached quorum.

Source: The Daily Jagran (with PTI inputs)

Congress leaders allege that adding four voting nominee directors would take the Mahayuti tally from 12 to 16, clearing the quorum threshold and handing the ruling alliance control of the board. The Bombay High Court has directed that a fresh election for the president be held on November 10, after the earlier attempt was allegedly stalled when Mahayuti-backed directors stayed absent. The cabinet proposal has reportedly been sent to the Governor for signature, with a gazette notification expected shortly. These claims about the government's intent are allegations by the opposition; no response from the state government to the specific charges was reported in the sources cited here.

What the leaders said

Addressing a press conference in Mumbai on Thursday, November 5, Satej Patil announced a mass protest march on November 9 from Dasara Chowk to the Kolhapur District Collectorate. Challenging the legal basis of the move, he said: 'Just because the election results didn't go in your favour, you change the laws. If law changes were needed, they should have been made before the election.' Patil also alleged a wider conspiracy to hand Gokul over to Amul, an allegation the government has not publicly answered in the reports cited.

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi posted on X on November 5, alleging: 'In Gokul, milk producers have defeated the BJP. So the BJP changed the rules after the election - stuff in 4 directors, turn 12 into 16, steal the majority. This is theft of the milk producers' votes - adulteration in the mandate.' Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said the party would challenge the cabinet decision in the Supreme Court, arguing that a government cannot change the rules after an election because it does not like the result.

The criticism was not limited to the Congress. NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar and Maharashtra Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal also attacked the decision, and Ravindra Dhangekar, a leader of the Shiv Sena - a Mahayuti ally - also criticised the move, saying esteemed institutions would crumble in the frenzy to seize control of the milk union.

What happens next

The dispute now moves on three tracks: the Governor's assent and gazette notification for the cabinet decision, the Congress protest march in Kolhapur on November 9, and the High Court-ordered president election on November 10, with a Supreme Court challenge in preparation. Gokul, which collects milk from village societies across the Kolhapur region, is among western Maharashtra's most politically sensitive cooperative institutions, and the outcome will decide who controls its board.