Mushrif asks Satej Patil to suggest formula for Gokul chairman election

Political activity has picked up over the election of the chairman of Kolhapur's well-known Gokul milk union. Minister Hasan Mushrif has offered Congress leader Satej Patil the chance to suggest the formula for choosing the chairman himself.

In the election to the 25 seats on Gokul's board of directors, the like-minded alliance led by Satej Patil won 13 seats, while the Mahayuti got 12. A quorum of 14 directors is required to elect the chairman, and it is not being met. This has created an obstacle for the panel of Congress's Satej Patil.

Against this backdrop, Mushrif said the Gokul chairman should be elected unopposed and by mutual consensus, and that Satej Patil should provide the formula for it. Mushrif also said, "We have not stopped him." Kolhapur's people, along with the wider political circle, are now watching what stand Satej Patil takes.

On the quorum, Mushrif said, "As per the law, a quorum of 14 directors is needed to elect the chairman. We have 12 directors, so we need two more. The like-minded alliance has got a majority, yet it too could not reach 14. To remove this obstacle, the government has decided to appoint five government-nominated directors. The quorum was not being met, so the cabinet has taken this decision."

The state cabinet has reportedly approved a proposal to have government-nominated members on Gokul's board. Under it, four non-official members and one official member are to be appointed. According to information, there is a provision to give four of these, the non-official members, the right to vote. For this reason, the political equations of the chairman's election are expected to change. There is now curiosity over who will have the upper hand in the election and how Satej Patil will respond to Mushrif's offer.

Meanwhile, Advocate Shrikrishna Ganbawale has said that if an attempt is made to bring an ordinance to prevent a change of power in Gokul, it will not stand the test of law. According to Ganbawale, former Chief Justice Bhushan Gavai has warned that issuing such an ordinance could be arbitrary. Ganbawale claims that Gavai has also raised a legal objection to the decision to give voting rights to government-nominated or approved directors.