Countdown to Amul dairy elections: Filing of nominations begins today

Ahmedabad, Aug 20 (IANS) The elections for Anand Amul Dairy (Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union) are scheduled for September 10. The nomination process begins today, Wednesday, August 20, and will remain open until August 28.

Amul Dairy (Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union) elections are conducted every few years to elect board members from 11 block-level seats across the Anand, Kheda, and Mahisagar districts.

Since 2015, the process has followed a block-based voting system, where elected representatives from village-level milk societies cast their votes instead of a general open ballot. Voting will take place in Anand, and counting will be completed on the same day. Historically, these elections have mirrored Gujarat’s political landscape.

In 2020, the Congress-backed panel led by Ramsinh Parmar swept the polls, winning 8 out of 12 seats, while the BJP managed only one, despite heavy campaigning. However, in 2023, the tide turned when the BJP wrested control of both the chairmanship and vice-chairmanship, ending Congress’s decades-long dominance.

By 2025, the contest has become more fragmented, with Parmar’s panel retaining influence but the BJP also making inroads, winning seats alongside an independent candidate.

This year, former Matar MLA Kesarisinh Solanki confirmed that Congress has chosen “capable candidates who can defeat the BJP” across 11 blocks, and that they will collectively file their nominations on August 27-28 at the Anand office.

The panel, however, will not field a candidate from Thasra, a women’s reserved seat, where BJP leader Ramsinh Parmar’s daughter-in-law is expected to win uncontested.

Meanwhile, BJP’s Amul Dairy election in-charge Ajay Brahmabhatt maintained that the selection process is ongoing and assured that final candidates would be announced shortly, with nominations expected between August 25-27.

Amul Dairy, the flagship of Gujarat’s cooperative movement, is a multi-billion-rupee enterprise that has grown into India’s largest dairy brand with an annual turnover crossing Rs 55,000 crore (2023-24), driven by milk procurement from over 36 lakh farmers across Gujarat.

Its revenues have consistently surged as Amul has expanded beyond liquid milk into value-added products like butter, cheese, paneer, chocolates, and beverages, commanding a strong national and international presence.

The cooperative’s financial clout makes its board elections critical, as those who control Amul effectively influence a massive rural economy and the livelihoods of lakhs of dairy farmers.

--IANS

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