Supreme Court to hear plea on voting rights of 492 Gokul milk societies again
A fresh petition challenging voting rights of 492 liquidated milk societies has stirred Gokul's election ahead of nomination filing
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As campaigning heats up for the five-yearly election of the Kolhapur District Cooperative Milk Producers' Union, known as Gokul, a fresh court case has emerged. The decision to treat 492 milk societies that had gone into liquidation as eligible and include them in the final voters' list has been challenged in the Supreme Court, once again leaving the voting rights of these 492 societies hanging on a court verdict.
Rajnikant Chendke, a member of the Shriram milk society of Isparli in Karvir taluka, has filed a special leave petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court against this decision of the Maharashtra government and the cooperation department. Notably, the petition has been filed right as the process of filing nomination forms was set to begin from September 15, stirring Gokul's politics.
The petition is expected to come up for hearing on Tuesday, and all eyes are on what stance the Supreme Court takes in the matter.
Meanwhile, MLA Satej Patil has taken up the cause of the 492 eligible milk societies to ensure their voting rights are preserved. Advocate Anand Landge will argue on behalf of these societies in the Supreme Court.
Gokul's election has been delayed for the past six months due to various court cases. Now that the election schedule has been announced and the time to file nomination forms is close at hand, the issue of the 492 societies has once again reached court, sparking discussion on what impact this could have on the election arithmetic.
On the other hand, around 1,400 milk societies that were already deemed eligible for Gokul's election have taken an aggressive stance. These societies had won voting rights through court proceedings over the past six months.
Two days ago, these eligible societies held an event called the "Satyavijay Kritagyata Samarambh" (Truth's Victory Gratitude Ceremony), where they raised their voice against an alleged "invisible force" that they say has been trying to get societies declared ineligible in the election.
At the event, these societies claimed they had unanimously decided not to vote for this "invisible force" in the coming election. This has raised curiosity over which way eligible societies will lean in Gokul's election. With the Supreme Court petition on one side and the aggressive stance of eligible societies on the other, Gokul's election appears to be getting more interesting.
