Fadnavis defends appointing four directors to Gokul, says otherwise fresh polls would be needed

No side won a majority in the Gokul milk union elections, which has made it difficult to elect a chairman. In this situation the state government decided to appoint four directors to Gokul. The Opposition, including Congress leader Satej Patil, has attacked the ruling side over the move. The Opposition alleges that the ruling side could not win the election and has therefore tried to take over Gokul through the back door.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has responded to these allegations for the first time. According to sources, he said that if directors were not appointed to Gokul, the union's election would have to be held again.

Mr Fadnavis made the remarks in an informal conversation with journalists. According to him, the quorum is not complete even after winning 13 seats, so a chairman cannot be elected. At least 14 members are needed to elect a chairman, and this has created a legal tangle. He said meetings were held two or three times to elect the chairman. If the quorum is not complete each time, the election itself will be cancelled. The government therefore decided to appoint four members. Some people are saying the decision will not stand, but Mr Fadnavis made it clear that the government took the step only after taking the Advocate General's opinion.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had tweeted about the Gokul election and called it vote theft. Mr Fadnavis hit back on this as well. He said it was a sorry state for Mr Gandhi that a man who dreams of becoming Prime Minister is tweeting about a small election. Gokul has only about 4,500 voters, yet Mr Gandhi has to sit in Delhi and tweet, he said. According to Mr Fadnavis, this is not a national issue, but Mr Gandhi has jumped into it too.

Now the rules. Gokul has 25 members in all. Under the Maharashtra cooperative law and Gokul's bylaws, 14 members are needed for a majority. Mr Patil has 13 members, while the Mahayuti has 12. Without 14 members the quorum is not complete, and without a quorum the chairman cannot be elected.

One meeting was held to elect the chairman, which only 13 members attended. The Mahayuti's 12 members stayed away. As the quorum was not complete, the meeting was cancelled and no chairman could be elected. According to sources, if two or three such meetings are cancelled, an administrator can be placed directly over Gokul, after which elections are held. To avoid those elections, the government has found a middle path of appointing four members.