Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday accused the BJP of attempting to take control of Maharashtra's Gokul Milk Federation after the party-led front lost the election to the Congress, which secured a majority of 13 seats in the 25-member body.
In the Gokul Milk Federation election, the BJP-led Mahayuti panel won 12 seats, while the Congress-led panel secured 13. The Congress planned to stake its claim to control the federation. However, the Maharashtra Cabinet on Wednesday approved a proposal to amend the cooperative law and nominate government members with voting rights to the federation's board, potentially giving the BJP-led front a majority.
Reacting to the decision, Gandhi said milk producers had defeated the BJP in the election, prompting the party to change the rules after its defeat.
“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,” the Congress leader said.
Gandhi further alleged that the BJP had become so desperate for power that it was willing to go to any lengths to secure it.
“Those who steal the milk producers' votes, remember - farmers don't forget,” Gandhi wrote on X.
Earlier, Congress Rajya Sabha MP and chairman of the party's media and publicity department, Pawan Khera, accused the BJP-led Maharashtra government of "brazenly attempting to subvert the democratic mandate of milk producers" at the Gokul Milk Federation by using legislative changes to manipulate the composition of an elected board.
"In the 19 October elections, the Congress-led panel won 13 of 25 seats, securing a majority over the Mahayuti’s 12. After Mahayuti-backed directors stalled the chairman’s election by remaining absent, the Bombay High Court directed a fresh election on 10 November," Khera wrote on X.
He added, “Instead of allowing the elected board to function, the state Cabinet has approved a proposal to nominate four government directors with voting rights, potentially altering the electoral arithmetic and overturning the mandate of milk producers."
"The larger question is whether a government can change the rules after an election simply because it does not like the result. We are challenging this decision in the Supreme Court to defend the democratic mandate and the autonomy of cooperative institutions,” the Congress leader alleged.
Satej Patil, who headed the Congress panel in the Gokul election, also criticised the government, calling it unfortunate that an electoral mandate was being undermined through changes to the cooperative law. He said he would challenge the decision in the Bombay High Court.
"If the government's policy is to disregard the people's mandate and take decisions according to its own wishes, then there is no point in holding elections. It would be better to cancel all elections, appoint government nominees, and let them run sugar factories, spinning mills, and municipal corporations," Patil said.
Established in 1963, Gokul is one of Maharashtra's largest cooperative dairy institutions. It has approximately 4.41 lakh milk producers associated with it through 8,009 village-level primary societies across nearly 1,810 villages.
The federation recorded an annual turnover of Rs 3,966.28 crore in 2024-25. Besides being a major economic institution, Gokul is also an influential centre of rural cooperative politics.
