A Nandini mobile stall. , Photo Credit: Anil Kumar Shastri
heyOver the past four months, Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF), one of the country’s successful milk cooperatives, has frequently featured in the political narrative. The Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular), which have been raising the issue of regional pride prominently in the run-up to the assembly polls in the state, are engaged in a bitter fight with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is opposed to them. Is. Narrative with a nationalist. A series of developments involving the Nandini brand marketed by KMF has resonated with voters, especially in the politically charged Old Mysore region, where the votes of the dominant and largely agrarian Vokkaligas matter.
In December 2022, at Mandya in Vokkaliga bastion, Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah Talks on the need for collaboration between KMF and Amul, is the largest milk cooperative in technology and marketing initiatives to ensure the growth of the Indian dairy industry. JD(S) and Congress interpreted this as an attempt to merge KMF with Amul. Mr Shah’s statement in Mandya was read along with his earlier statement in Guwahati that the five cooperatives would be merged with Amul to form a multi-state cooperative, subsuming the state’s own brand under the Gujarat-based milk giant. was seen as a threat to , This led to several days of rhetoric between the BJP and the opposition, despite top BJP leaders including the chief minister issuing statements denying the merger.
Over the last one month, KMF has again been at the center of the political arena as the opposition has blamed the government’s “deliberate mismanagement” of KMF for the alleged shortage of milk for almost a week. Soon after, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) issued an order to KMF and Aavin in Tamil Nadu asking them to label yogurt as “yogurt”. He was forced to withdraw the order when Tamil Nadu and Karnataka opposed the move.
Currently, Amul has kicked off a political storm by announcing its entry into the Bengaluru market through the sale of milk and curd on an online portal, thus breaking an unwritten understanding between the two successful cooperatives that They will not compete with each other in their respective fields. However, this is not Amul’s first foray into Karnataka. It has been selling milk in the Mumbai-Karnataka region for the past seven years, and its other milk products have been available on the shelves for a long time. The opposition is seeing this as another attempt to weaken the KMF. The statements of BJP leaders have also added fuel to the fire. For example, BJP general secretary CT Ravi asked why people were protesting against the “Indian brand Amul”. KMF said it was capable of facing the challenges of the market and that there was no merger proposal, but this went almost unheard of in the uproar.
There are about 28 lakh members of milk societies in Karnataka. The total votes of their families are around 50 lakhs. They also hold the key to the BJP’s entry into the Vokkaliga region, which contributes largely to the KMF’s membership. BJP’s previous attempt to woo members from these districts failed even though the post of KMF president went to the saffron party leaders during BJP’s rule. Current chairman Balachandra Jarkiholi’s statement that he is the only BJP leader in the KMF, which is dominated by Congress and JD(S) leaders, shows the opposition’s political influence at the grassroots level in the lowlands.
BJP trying to make big inroads in old Mysore region has added to the confusion. Its attempt to break the opposition’s stranglehold on societies by launching a new milk bank to siphon off members is yet to take shape. Currently, milk producers are in crisis: production is falling due to lumpy skin disease and they get less remuneration despite rising costs. After keeping milk prices down for nearly two years, the government approved an increase of ₹2 per litre, while KMF’s demand was ₹5 per litre. The ₹5 per liter financial incentive to farmers has not been paid by the government for nearly six months, and the outstanding amount is over ₹450 crore. The farmers have put it against the government.
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With elections less than a month away, the BJP’s political strategy in the dairy sector seems to be in disarray. It faces a serious challenge from the opposition, which is dominated by dairy farmers, most of whom depend on KMF for subsistence.