Protests in Kolhapur over Gokul Dairy board nominations; election for chairperson today

Mumbai Thousands of protesters, including farmers’ groups and Opposition parties, hit the streets of Kolhapur on Monday to protest against the Maharashtra government’s decision to nominate five directors to the boards of large cooperatives, which will have a direct impact on Tuesday’s election for the chairperson of the Kolhapur District Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union, better known as Gokul Dairy. It is one of the largest cooperatives in the State.

A panel backed by Congress MLC Satej Patil had defeated the Mahayuti combine in the elections to the Gokul Dairy board on October 18, winning 13 of the 25 seats against the ruling alliance’s 12. Mr.

Patil had moved the Bombay High Court against a recently promulgated ordinance giving the State government the power to appoint five directors to its board, four of them with voting rights, and fundamentally altering the balance of power in the cooperative.