BJP takes control of Amul Dairy milk union

BJP leader Vipul Patel on Tuesday was elected as the new chairman of the Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producers Union Limited, the oldest dairy union in the state best known as Amul Dairy while Kanti Sodha Parmar, a former Congress leader who joined the BJP earlier this month, was elected to the post of vice-chairman.

With this, the ruling BJP has ousted the opposition Congress from the only milk cooperative dairy where the party held any sway. Once known to have a formidable presence in the cooperative sector, the Congress has lost its hold in all the 18 thriving milk cooperative unions, which play key roles in all elections.

The BJP has taken complete control over the union after its four directors, who are also Congress leaders, including Juvansinh Chauhan, Sitaben Parmar, Shardaben Patel and Ghelabhai Zala joined the party last week. These resignations reduced the Congress-supported board members to a minority.

The Congress has been losing its grip on the union since 2017 when one of the oldest cooperative leaders and party MLA Ramsinh Parmar joined the BJP. Parmar lost the 2017 Assembly polls on a BJP ticket but he continued to lead the union as its chairman. In December 2022 Assembly polls, his son Yogendrasinh won from the Thasra constituency on the BJP ticket. The new Amul Dairy union chairman Vipul Patel is BJP's Kheda district president.

Amul Dairy is the oldest milk cooperative in Gujarat, headquartered in Anand district which has over 7 lakh milk producer members.