Shankar Chaudhary. He is the man who holds the key to the GCMMF election scheduled for August 18.
The world-famous Amul brand is owned by GCMMF headquartered at Anand in Gujarat.
Shankar Singh is a BJP MLA and the Chairman of Banas District Cooperative Bank. He is said to be very close to Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
The fight for the GCMMF Chairmanship is again between the current Chairman Parthi Bhatol and his old-time adversary Vipul Chaudhary.
Indian Cooperative has reliably learnt that Narendra Modi is in favour of the current Chairman Parthi Bhatol. But Modi himself is a beleaguered man in this election year.
Modi’s problem is being compounded by Keshu Bhai Patel who has floated a party of his own and is likely to draw on the BJP following.
Vipul Chaudhary is also from BJP and would pull out all the stops to impress upon the party leadership to nominate him.
Observers say anything can happen in the election year. Modi is not as domineering as he used to be given the compulsions of electoral politics.
Parthi Bhatol’s son Vasant Bhatol is also a BJP MLA having clout with the BJP leadership. Vipil would have to contend with him as well. The choice of candidature remains inconclusive so far.
Shankar Chaudhary, the strong man from Banas is said to favour Bhatol. Chaudhary’s closeness with Narendra Modi is the strongest point in favour of Bhatol.
But Ramsinh Parmar is a factor Bhatol may have to reckon with in his bid to secure nomination for the Chairmanship. Last time Ramsinh Parmar had teamed up with Vipul Chaudhary to upset Bhatol’s applecart. But Chief Minister Narendra Modi acted as a bulwork against the plot.
Cooperative politics in the country as well as in Gujarat is not divided on political party lines. It is a common sight to see BJP man lobbying with Congress to win an election. Being party-neutral also helps the cooperative politics to rise above the narrow considerations.
But with Modi’s own house afire, how far could he be effective in dousing other’s fire remains to be seen.