In a setback for Congress, NCP’s Rajesh Patil elected Gokul Dairy chairperson

11 NOVEMBER 2026

Rajesh Patil of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) was elected the chairperson of the Kolhapur District Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union, better known as Gokul Dairy.
Mr. Patil bagged 16 votes — 12 of the Mahayuti panel and four of the State government-nominated directors.
He defeated Shashikant Patil Chuyekar, the candidate fielded by Congress MLC Satej Patil-led panel, by three votes.
Mahayuti said that an “understanding” had been reached among the four Mahayuti constituents — the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), NCP, Shiv Sena and Jan Surajya Party — that the five-year tenure of the chairperson will be divided equally among them. “Each will get a 1.25-year term,” said a Minister.
The result came as a setback to the Congress MLC a day after the Bombay High Court refused to intervene in the election process on his plea.

Lost after winning

A panel backed by Mr. Satej had defeated the Mahayuti combine in the elections to the Gokul Dairy board on October 18, winning 13 of the 25 seats against the ruling alliance’s 12.
Mr. Satej moved the court against a recently promulgated ordinance giving the State government the power to appoint five directors to its board, four of them with voting rights, and fundamentally altering the balance of power in the cooperative.