Bombay High Court Clears Gokul Dairy Election Amid Protests

The Bombay High Court cleared the way for the Kolhapur District Cooperative Milk Producers' Union, known as Gokul Dairy, to hold its chairman election on November 10. The ruling follows a dispute over a Maharashtra government ordinance that allows the state to nominate five members to large cooperatives, four of whom possess voting rights. While the court refused to stay the ordinance, it ordered that the ballots of the state-nominated directors remain sealed and separate from those of the elected directors until a legality hearing on November 25.

Devendra Fadnavis, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, defended the ordinance as a technical necessity to resolve a quorum crisis that had already stalled two previous election attempts. He argued that without a quorum, the election cannot proceed, which would eventually cause powers to revert to the District Deputy Registrar.

Opposition leaders and thousands of farmers from Kolhapur, Sangli, and Satara protested the move, describing it as a hostile takeover. A Congress-backed panel led by Satej Patil won 13 of 25 seats in the October 18 board elections, narrowly defeating the BJP-led Mahayuti's 12 seats. Critics, including Rahul Gandhi, allege the government is retrospectively changing rules to increase the BJP's strength to 16 and overturn the electoral mandate. The court mandated full videography of the election to ensure transparency.