Rajesh Patil elected Gokul milk union chairman as Mahayuti candidate

The contest for the chairman's post of the Gokul milk union, much discussed in Kolhapur politics for several days, has finally been decided. Rajesh Patil, the Mahayuti candidate and a former Nationalist Congress Party MLA, has been elected Gokul chairman. With this win, the Mahayuti has taken control of Gokul.

Satej Patil's Rajarshi Shahu Kisan Samvichari Aghadi had fielded Shashikant Patil-Chuyekar against him, but Rajesh Patil won.

The election was held on November 10 under returning officer Mausami Chougule. Along with Gokul's 25 elected directors, four government-appointed directors also voted. The voting rights of these government-appointed directors had been a major point of dispute from the start.

Satej Patil had gone to court against the decision. Even so, the Aurangabad Bench allowed the election to be held on November 10, and directed that the final result would depend on the court's decision in the pending case.

It has been reported that, in a contest of 13 against 12, the votes of the four government-appointed directors proved decisive. Rajesh Patil's win marks a successful new move by the Mahayuti in Gokul politics.

Rajesh Narsingrao Patil is a former NCP MLA who won from the Chandgad assembly constituency in 2019. His father, Narsing Gurunath Patil, was also an MLA, so politics runs in the family. He is also known as a trusted leader of Hasan Mushrif and the late Ajit Pawar. In the 2024 assembly election he was defeated by Shivaji Patil, a rebel BJP candidate. It is said that Ajit Pawar also deeply regretted this defeat.

Amid talk of Rajesh Patil's win, an old video of Ajit Pawar is circulating on social media. Speaking at an event in Chandgad, Ajit Pawar had called Rajesh Patil his "right hand". Expressing regret over the assembly election defeat, he had said, "Where do I tie the turban, our right hand Rajesh Patil has lost." He had also said, "We have won a stronghold in Maharashtra, but our lion is gone."

After a defeat in Gokul's previous election, remarks were made about Hasan Mushrif by the Mandlik camp. Now Rajesh Patil has got the chairman's post from the same Hasan Mushrif's camp. This appears to be drawing a curtain over old political differences.