Litmus test for over dozen milkmen’s ‘doodh shakti’ this poll

Vadodara: This hustings will prove to be a litmus test for Amul’s ‘doodh shakti’ literally when at least a dozen-odd ‘dudhwalas’ or their relatives from Gujarat’s dairy co-operatives — a network of 18,000 plus village-level milk societies — will fight to get a footing in the state’s governance.
Dubbed as the backbone of Gujarat’s rural economy, 36 lakh families of farmers spread across the length and breadth of the state, make their contribution to the state’s White Revolution under the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) that markets the iconic brand Amul.
Interestingly, Gujarat will seek a mandate for a new assembly at a time when senior BJP leader Amit Shah is himself heading the newly created Union ministry of cooperation.
Shah, as then home minister of Gujarat, was instrumental in turning the GCMMF board into ‘Congress mukt’. Once dominated by Congress leaders, all the 18 heads of milk unions, who are members of GCMMF’s board, are now linked with the BJP.
The 2022 Gujarat assembly election will also decide the future role of cooperative leaders in state politics.
“Irrespective of party symbols, each board member in a dairy co-operative holds immense influence when it comes to voters in rural areas across Gujarat which has a strong network of milk mandalis. Sarpanches have rivals, but when it comes to cooperative leaders, there is less animosity as they are the ones who help milk producers for annual bonus, loans, subsidies, government schemes to veterinarians,” said Tejash Patel, a member of BJP Gujarat Pradesh Cooperative Cell.
In the complex structure of the three-tier dairy cooperatives, Congress, however, still counts. And it is a “BJP-Congress” coalition that is running the show in Amul Dairy. If Amul Dairy’s chief is pooling all resources for the BJP, four other board members of Amul dairy are either contesting or campaigning for Congress.
This includes Amul dairy’s vice-chairman Rajendrasinh Parmar, who is eyeing a sixth term as Congress MLA from Borsad, board member Kanti Sodha Parmar, who is eyeing a second term as Congress MLA from Anand and Sanjay Patel, a board member, who is contesting for the third time at Matar assembly seat in Kheda. Another board member Sitaben Parmar is the sister-in-law of Sojitra’s Congress MLA Punambhai Parmar. The grand old party has also promised Rs 5 per litre subsidy for dairy farmers in the state – a scheme that the Ashok Gehlot government has implemented in neighbouring Rajasthan.
“You make him (Shankar Chaudhary) MLA, the party will make him a big man,” Amit Shah has already hinted while campaigning in his support of Chaudhary, chairman of Asia’s largest dairy – Banas Dairy – who is contesting from Tharad seat instead of the Vav assembly seat which he had lost in 2017 in North Gujarat’s Banaskantha district.
But the saffron party also had to face rebellion from Mavji Desai, former vice-chairman in Banas Dairy’s board, who is contesting as an independent candidate from Dhanera seat. BJP has suspended Desai, who is no longer a part of the dairy’s board.
In neighbouring Mehsana district, BJP has fielded Sardar Chaudhary, a director in Dudhsagar Dairy’s board, as its candidate from the Kheralu seat where it had to face dissidence.
In the run-up to the assembly elections, Shah is believed to have placated influential members of the Anjana Chaudhary community, who under the banner of Arbuda Sena had launched a stir in support of Vipul Chaudhary, former home minister and former chairman of Dudhsagar Dairy. Vipul Chaudhary was arrested and jailed for alleged irregularities worth Rs 800 crore during his tenure as chairman.
A maximum number of ‘dudhwalas’ in fray are on seats falling in Central Gujarat. At least five directors of Amul Dairy’s board and four members from Baroda Dairy’s board have directly or indirectly jumped into the battle of ballots. In the Charotar belt, BJP has rewarded Amul Dairy’s chairman Ramsinh Parmar, whose son Yogendra Parmar is contesting from Thasra .
From Baroda dairy, dairy’s chairman Dinesh Patel alias Dinu Mama is contesting as an independent from Padra after he was denied a ticket by BJP. Interestingly, even the former chairman of Baroda dairy Madhu Shrivastava is contesting as an independent from Waghodia.
Another board member in Baroda Dairy Kuldip Raolji is contesting from Savli as a Congress candidate.
The poll battle in Chhota Udepur is a Rathwa affair with Sangramsinh, son of former railways minister Naran Rathwa, contesting on Congress ticket, is a board member of Baroda Dairy. He will fight Rajendrasinh Rathwa, brother of Ranjitsinh Rathwa, who is also a board member at Baroda Dairy.