Dairy farmers march in Kolhapur to protest ordinance altering Gokul milk cooperative voting rights

KOLHAPUR —

Dairy farmers marched to the district collectorate with their livestock in Kolhapur on Monday, intensifying a political standoff over a state ordinance that grants voting rights to four nominated directors on the board of the Gokul milk cooperative.

The protests follow a cabinet decision allowing government-nominated members on managing committees of cooperatives with turnovers exceeding Rs 500 crore. Opposition leaders and dairy farmers argue the policy is a retroactive attempt to alter the 25-member board’s power balance and overturn the results of the October 19 elections at the Kolhapur District Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union, known as Gokul.

During the October elections, the Rajarshi Shahu Shetkari Samvichari Aghadi panel—led by Congress MLC Satej Patil—won 13 of the 25 seats, while the ruling Mahayuti-backed panel secured 12 seats at the cooperative, which has a turnover exceeding Rs 4,000 crore. Opponents contend that adding four voting nominees effectively shifts the Mahayuti’s strength from 12 to 16, neutralizing the opposition’s majority.

Monday’s demonstration drew dairy farmers, lawyers carrying black flags, and prominent political figures. Prior to the march, Satej Patil met with MPs Vishal Patil and Dhairyasheel Mohite-Patil alongside Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana chief Raju Shetti at Patil’s Ajinkyatara office. The Samvichari Aghadi has filed a petition in the Bombay High Court to challenge and revoke the ordinance, with a hearing listed before the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar bench due to a holiday at the Kolhapur bench.

Nationalist Congress Party (SP) MP Supriya Sule voiced support for the protest on social media, sharing footage of party chief Sharad Pawar monitoring the demonstrations. Sule stated that her party stands alongside the milk producers of Kolhapur.

National and state opposition leaders strongly condemned the move. The Congress party issued statements on X accusing the BJP-led government of orchestrating a “hostile takeover” and tampering with the public mandate. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi posted that the ruling alliance altered rules post-election to convert 12 seats into 16, characterizing the policy change as a subversion of farmers’ votes. Activist Abhijeet Dipke also criticised the administration, targeting Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and raising questions regarding state electoral processes.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis defended the cabinet’s decision, stating that the nominations were necessary to resolve a quorum deadlock that blocked the election of Gokul’s chairman. Fadnavis explained that neither faction held the numbers required to meet the quorum after one group stayed away from meetings, resulting in court intervention. He added that under the cooperative’s bylaws, repeated failures to elect a chairman transfer administrative powers to the District Deputy Registrar, leaving elected members stripped of authority.