Mahayuti Allies Unite to Contest Gokul Milk Union Elections in Kolhapur
Political parties in the ruling Mahayuti alliance have mended their differences and joined hands to contest the upcoming elections for the Kolhapur District Cooperative Milk Producers Union, popularly known as Gokul. The move sets up a major political contest in Kolhapur against Congress leader Satej Patil for control of Maharashtra's largest cooperative milk dairy.
The election preparations follow an intervention by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. According to senior journalist and political commentator Vasant Bhosle, Fadnavis personally stepped in to ensure that all Mahayuti leaders unite to fight the Gokul elections this year, as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seeks to make inroads into the cooperative.
Gokul holds immense economic and political significance in western Maharashtra. Established on March 16, 1963, the cooperative milk union recorded a turnover of Rs 3,966.28 crore for the 2024-25 financial year. It is associated with nearly 4,41,000 milk producers, collecting milk from 8,009 village-level primary societies across 1,810 villages.
In the previous election held in 2021, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) captured control of Gokul under the leadership of Satej Patil and undivided NCP leader Hasan Mushrif. Their victory ended the 30-year-long dominance of former MLA Mahadevrao Mahadik and the late former MLA P N Patil.
However, the political landscape shifted after splits in the Shiv Sena and the NCP. Mushrif joined the ruling Mahayuti alliance at the state level but initially attempted to maintain his cooperative-sector alliance with Patil.
This arrangement faced opposition from BJP-supported independent MLA Shivaji Patil, who leveled allegations against Mushrif. Under pressure, Mushrif abandoned his cooperative alliance with the Congress leader.
The upcoming election has already seen controversy, including political infighting among allies, the appointment of an administrator, and court intervention. Because Gokul deposits money directly into the accounts of milk producers, many of whom are marginal farmers and women, control of the dairy remains a highly contested prize for political factions in Kolhapur.
