4 days ago
Hasan Mushrif's son Navid chosen unopposed by board to post of Gokul dairy's chairman
Kolhapur: Navid Mushrif, the 39-year-old son of state cabinet minister Hasan Mushrif, has been named the next — and youngest — chairman of the Kolhapur Zilla Sahakari Dudh Utpadak Sangh Ltd, popularly known by its brand name Gokul dairy.
Gokul is the largest cooperative milk dairy in Maharashtra, connecting with every milk-supplying farmer in Kolhapur district, a major supply market in Mumbai, Pune, and Goa, and an annual turnover of over Rs3,500 crore.
Navid will hold the post for one year, the remainder of the five-year tenure. The next elections for Gokul dairy are going to take place next year.
Interestingly, barely ten days ago, when Mushrif was asked about whether Navid is in the race for the chairman's post, he had told reporters: "He has to wait for now.
There is no question of his acceptance. The horse will be in the race only if he is unleashed."
At the time, then-chairman of Gokul, Arun Dongle, had refused to resign. This had pushed Mushrif — a key leader of the Rajarshi Shahu Parivartan Aghadi, which won Gokul's election in 2021 — into a corner.
The state-level leadership of Mahayuti, especially BJP and Shiv Sena leaders, had been insisting that someone from their alliance should become chairman of Gokul dairy to boost chances of a win in the local body elections.
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Mahayuti won all 10 seats in the district during the assembly elections last year, and the leadership was keen to put MVA — mainly Congress MLC Satej Patil — into a corner by reducing his dominance.
Patil is also a member of the Rajarshi Shahu Parivartan Aghadi along with Mushrif.
In a twist, it was Patil himself who handed the closed envelope with Navid's name inside to the senior director of Gokul dairy, Vishwas Patil, to table before the directors' meeting.
The name was accepted unopposed, thus making Navid the youngest ever chairman in the history of Gokul dairy.
Commenting on the development, Satej Patil said, "We all leaders met together and finalized the name unanimously. There is no political colour to the choice made by all of us. There were many directors who were interested to become chairman for the remainder of the term."
Among top runners 24 hours before Navid's name started doing rounds was Shashikant Patil Chuyekar, son of Anandrao Patil Chuyekar, founder of Gokul dairy.
His name was almost final and was said to be accepted by leaders across political parties — but it was not to be. Commenting on the development, Chuyekar said, "Gokul dairy is our family. The decision was taken by the leaders, and he (Navid) was elected unopposed."
Besides being a state cabinet minister, Hasan Mushrif is also chairman of the Kolhapur District Central Cooperative Bank. Now, his son is following in his footsteps and two important institutions connected to farmers of the district are with the Mushrif family.
After accepting congratulatory felicitations at the dairy's headquarters, Navid, who is also the chairman of a sugar factory, told reporters, "I have decided not to use the official vehicle of the dairy and will use my own. The decision to choose me was taken by all leaders. We are all united. We must expand Gokul with the help of state govt."
