The Delhi Milk Scheme begun way back in 1959 as a part of the union agriculture ministry has been incurring losses over the last years. The scheme is on the block now and the Gujarat Milk Marketing Federation-the parent company of the famous Amul has shown interest in buying it.

GCMMF’s move is prompted by certain concrete calculations: using the DMS infrastructure and its great market potential. According to Gcmmf chairman Vipul Chaudhary, DMS has more than 350 outlets in the national capital and has a production capacity of half a million litres of milk a day.

GCMMF presently boasts an annual turnover of nearly Rs.12 thousand crore but it is active exploring new areas outside Gujarat for its expansion. It would invest Rs. 3000 crore enhancing both its production and procurement capacity in the next few years, said GCMMF’s new Chairman Vipul Chaudhary.

Talking to Indian Cooperative, Mr Chaudhary said we merely want to operate DMS professionally and we believe that business is better managed by businessmen.

Vipul Chaudhary was elected as the new chairman of GCMMF, producer of Amul on Saturday. He talked to Indian Cooperative on Sunday outlining his priorities.

Excerpts:

Indian Cooperative: Congratulations Mr Chaudhary! You won unanimously.

Vipul Chaudhary: Thanks

Indian Cooperative: What is your top priority as GCMMF’s Chairman?

Vipul Chaudhary: To make the state of Gujarat number one in milk production. The State’s position is presently number five.

Indian Cooperative: What is the road map? How are you going to achieve this?

Vipul Chaudhary: We would seek guidance from the respected Chief Minister Narendra Modi who is ever eager to make Gujarat number one in all sectors. We would also seek help from Amrita Behn of NDDB and then work out an action plan. We are sure to achieve this goal sooner than later.

Indian Cooperative: What else?

Vipul Chaudhary: Quality and consumer grievance are two things I am personally going to look into. All complaints would immediately be attended to as I think it is also a high priority.

Indian Cooperative: Would you enlist support of the outgoing Chairman Parthi Bhatol? Do you think he would create problems for you, given a history of bitter differences?

Vipul Chaudahry: Absolutely wrong! Parthi Bhai Bhatol is like my elder brother. We are from the same community and from the adjoining districts. That apart, it was he who proposed my name and I am confident I would have his full support all through my tenure.

Vipul Chaudhary, the Chairman of Mehsana Milk Union was elected as the new Chairman of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), in an election marked by hectic political maneuvering behind the scene.

Parthi Bhatol who served two-terms as Chairman of Amul, made way for Chaudhary to the great surprise of media and people associated with GCMMF political matrix.

Bhatol said, “I had not filed nominations for the post of chairman. I propose Vipul’s name. He has significant experience in the dairy industry, and is heading the Dudhsagar Dairy in Mehsana. All of us will together steer GCMMF to new heights.”

Till yesterday Bhatol was angling for the top political post but in the last minute he proposed Vipul Chaudhary’s name to the anti-climax of a political build-up marked for last fortnight.

Narendra Modi, the Chief Minister of Gujarat is caught in political vortex in the wake of Assembly election scheduled for November. GCMMF politics threatened to tear into the unity of BJP which is already compromised in the wake of Keshu Bhai’s floating a new party.

The Chairmen of milk unions affiliated to GCMMF waited for “instruction” from Narendra Modi till last minute. Even Bhatol was at a loss as to which way the politics would turn. Modi was careful not to allow a prolonged political build up that would cost BJP its unity.

The political operation was quick and swift. The instruction was clear—Vipul is to be supported. And nobody but the outgoing Chairman Bahtol would propose his name.

“Instruction” in place, the election of Chairman of GCMMF was a smooth affair. Vipul Chaudhary was elected unanimously and Bhatol did not even file his nomination. Cooperative politics gave way to consensus politics.

The transition of power was rather smooth and it took only half an hour for the diary behemoth to elect its new guardian. Hope this bonhomie continues in days to come. Vipul has already announced a goal of Rs 30,000 crore by 2020 and would be needing support from all to achieve this. Amul, after all is pride of Indian cooperative movement.

Die is cast, it’s a fight between Parthi Bhatol and Vipul Chaudhary in the election of Gujarat Cooperative Marketing Milk Federation (GCMMF), the owner of famous brand Amul.

Till recently Bhatol was being coy and not declaring his name. He was probably waiting for the green light from the High Command. But on Sunday while talking to Indian Cooperative.com he said he is very much in race.

Bhatol would file nomination on 18th August, the day of the GCMMF election. Obeying the court orders the Deputy Commissioner of Anand had announced the election schedule. Vipul Chaudhary would also file nomination on the same day.

Vipul Chaudhary is representing the milk union, Dudhsagar of Mehsana while Bhatol represents Banas dairy.

Though Bhatol was careful enough not to drop any hint, it is obvious that he has had some positive response from Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

But Indian Cooperative has reliably learnt that though Modi favours Bhatol he is yet to signal his choice to the different milk unions
counting sixteen.

Majority of the milk unions, about 12 are controlled by the ruling party while the remaining four are in the Congress fold. Modi, himself caught neck-deep into the preparations for the assembly elections would spell out his choice, according to his close aide, a couple of days only before the election.

The delay is necessitated by the fact that Vipul Cahudhary, the challenger of Bhatol also belongs to the BJP fold. Modi would not like to displease anybody without reasons. He is possibly assessing the loss or the gain of supporting either of the candidates in the larger context of the state election due in November.

But what is clear is that the Congress MLA and Chairman of milk union Amul , Ramsinh Parmar stands no chance.

His effort to upset Bhatol by siding with Vipul Chaudhary is fraught with risks for Vipul as his party would not take kindly to his seeking support from outsiders.

Vipul’s detractors accuse him of not conducting the affairs of Dudhsagar in a fair and progressive manner. His disposition and way of treating people are also not liked by many.

There are many who oppose Bhatol too and cite numerous cases of irregularity at Banas dairy. The current subtle war may get louder as the election day gets closer.

Election Officer and Deputy Collector of Anand district, N D Mistry finally announced the election of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) on Wednesday. The date of election has been fixed on August 18.

Nominations would be filed on the same day and the voting would begin from 11 am, informed the Collector. The date of election had become a thorny issue which ultimately sought the intervention of Gujarat High Court.

On 20 July High Court ordered the collector to complete the election process within a month. N D Mistry, the returning officer as well as the Deputy Commissioner of Anand which houses the famous brand Amul has announced the date keeping in mind the high court’s deadline.

Delay was being attributed to politicking by the Narendra Modi government which has also to go for election later this year in November.

GCMMF consists of 16 milk unions and there is a clear cut majority of BJP government in it with most of the chairmen belonging to its fold.

But within BJP also there is fierce fight which would only worsen with the announcement of date of election.

The outgoing Chairman Parthi Patel is an old time loyalist of Modi and it was Modi who ensured his smooth sailing in a highly politicized charged atmosphere of GCMMF Board room.

Vipul Chaudhary is another contender and a name to reckon with in BJP’s power of corridor. Then there are some elements of Congress which may try to upset Modi’s card by siding with some disgruntled element of BJP.

Some of the chairmen of milk unions also remain indecisive till end , mostly evaluating their “benefits” from different candidatures.

Vadodara District Milk Producers Cooperative Union had recently filed a petition in the Gujarat High Court urging the court to direct the Anand Collector to hold an immediate election for the post of chairman of GCMMF.

The court has asked the Collector to announce the elections and complete the poll process within two weeks.

It is noteworthy that the tenure of the GCMMF chairman had come to an end already in June but the Anand Collector had been delaying the announcement of elections. The delay had caused all manners of speculation fraying nerves in the cooperative circles in Gujarat.

Parthi Bhatol, the current Chairman had a tumultuous tenure. Ram Sinh Parmar joined by Vipul Chaudhary had kept him on tenterhooks for the major part of his tenure. It is only for the last couple of years that he had smooth sailing.

Whether Bhatol would fight or not is not clear as he is keeping his cards close to his chest. He does not want to appear as a greedy cooperator hankering after positions. Especially before the chief Minister Narendra Modi.

Narendra Modi favoured him last time as he was looked upon as a simple man. But things have changed since. His opponents have leveled various acts of omission and commission against him in Banas dairy which has hogged the headlines in local dailies.

Bhatol had contested corruption charges in the pages of Indian Cooperative and had cited the fast growth rate of Banas as proof of his competence. But ghost of Banas dairy is sure to haunt him either in his selection as the future candidate of GCMMF or in the final election if he is chosen as a candidate by the BJP.

Vipul Chaudhary ,Chairman of Dudhsagar is another potent candidate. He also belongs to BJP and has strong lineage.
Which way the party High Command thinks is a matter of speculation for all. The Court’s judgment in this background is sure to lead to intense politicking.

Campaign would pick up momentum once the date of the election is announced. GCMMF has 16 voters, 15 of them belong to the dairy cooperatives and one vote belongs to the Registrar of the Gujarat cooperatives. In the last election there were 13 votes but two more cooperative federations have joined since adding to the votes.

Those contesting the election for the Chairmanship of GCMMF would have to keep an eye on four members as they are treated as floating votes. They could switch sides easily. This includes Manu Patel of Surat Dairy, Jetha Patel of Sabarkatha dairy, Shankar Singh Rana of Gandhi Nagar dairy and Baba Parmar of Surendra Nagar dairy.

No body thought Bhatol would be so lucky! Not, perhaps Bhatol  himself. The 21^st August meeting which was called by 10 members of GCMMF to discuss no confidence motion against Bhatol fizzled out. And it fizzled out so badly for dissident leader Mr Vipul Chaudhry that he hurried to leave the scene quickly.

No sooner did the board meet at the appointed time, Vipul Chaudhary objected to Bhatol chairing the meeting as he has lost the confidence of the board. An angry Bhatol retorted him and a free for all ensued.

Intervening in the melee Panchmahal-based Panchamrut Dairy chairman and BJP MLA Jetha Bharwad said that he was with Bhatol. And soon other Directors also joined him professing his support to the incumbent Chairman Parthi Bhai Bhatol.

How it happened . No body knows. May be Gandhinagar has a role to play. Or may be Bhatol’s clean image led to a change of heart in dissidents. With this the third attempt by Mehsana dairy chief Vipul Chaudhary to win the post of Chairman of GCMMF failed.

Chaudhary is eyeing chairmanship of country’s largest dairy co-operative since the time Dr Kurien stepped down from the post.

Ramsinh Parmar, the trusted friend of Vipul told media that the no confidence motion was shelved keeping the interest of farmers in mind.

B M Vyas , the managing director of gcmmf, god knows why, wrote in a plane paper to be relieved from the job by 30^th June. The chairman of gcmmf Mr Parthi bhai Bhatol seized upon this piece of paper like a hungry man and announced to the world that Vyas  is no more with amul.

But this is not the end of vyas saga. The story started long time back. As Vyas term started to get near its end, he employed all the tricks in his bag to get yet another extension.  His long stay at amul has enabled him to oblige many such people who matter.

Ram Sinh Parmar and Moga bhai Desai figure prominently in the list of those whom Vyas has obliged through extra constitutional means. It is said that Vyas gave a credit of Rs 15crore to Valsad milk union run by Moga bhai without any information either to board or to its  chairman. Ram Singh Parmar is also said to have taken many favours in the regime of Vyas . He is a congress MLA with considerable clout with milk unions.The joining of  former minister Vipul Choudhary has further strengthened the hold of this troika—Vipul- Ram Singh and Vyas.

B M Vyas  confident of using this group to continue  his rule at amul. It is said that Vyas will support  vipul choudhary for the post of chairmanship who in turn will insure 5 years un interupted of Vyas at amul.

The only hitch in this game plan is Parthy bhai Bhatol’s unfinished tenure. He has two more years to go. 9 directors out of 13 have written one line letter to the chairman to call board meeting on 30^th June to discuss B M Vyas resignation. This meeting which has no other agenda is going to be quite stormy. The 9 directors led by the clout of Ram –Vipul duo will try to push for Vyas continuation and Bhatol’s ouster. But on what basis Bhatol’s exit will be tried to be enforced  will be interesting to see.

Vyas camp  is never  tired of boasting that in his rule amul went on to become  8000 crore company. But Bhatol’s camp give credit for the growth to the leadership of Bhatol. They cite the example of milk union  run by

Parthi bhai. This union produces 25lack litre of milk while the average in gcmmf is 19 lac litre and this union is supposed to be the best performer in whole of Asia . Parthi bhai managerial excellence, supporters say , can be gauged from this example.

Whatever be the truth, 30^th june is going to be crucial not only for Vyas and Bhatol but for amul too. Success of amul or for that matter any cooperative movement cannot be one  man wonder –be it Vyas or Bhatol. The board will do well to favour a man who represents the movement and the farmers.