The Congress-led Rajarshi Shahu Shetkari Samvichari Aghadi, headed by MLC Satej Patil, won 16 of the 25 seats in the election to Kolhapur District Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union, popularly known as Gokul, while the Mahayuti-backed panel secured the remaining nine seats, media outlets report.
The election witnessed an impressive 99.96 per cent voter turnout, with 50 candidates contesting 25 seats. The contest had emerged as a prestige battle between Patil’s panel and the ruling Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra.
Several prominent candidates backed by Mahayuti lost, including outgoing Gokul chairman Navid Mushrif, son of state minister Hasan Mushrif, and former chairmen Arun Dongale and Vishwas Patil. Shaumika Mahadik suffered a narrow defeat by just seven votes.
The result shifts control of the influential dairy cooperative towards Patil’s panel, strengthening its position in Kolhapur’s cooperative and political landscape.
