Dissatisfaction within BJP over Vipul Patel's name for Sabar Dairy Chairman post

There is intense heat in the cooperative politics of North Gujarat regarding the selection of the new Chairman of Sabar Dairy. According to a report by TV9 Gujarati, there are discussions that Vipul Patel's name is being considered for the post of Chairman, which has led to deep dissatisfaction among the local BJP organisation and workers associated with the party for years. Vipul Patel joined the BJP only three years ago after leaving the Congress party. Furthermore, he had contested the 2014 and 2017 elections against BJP candidates. In such a situation, there is anger among old BJP workers over the preparation to hand over the reins of an important cooperative institution like Sabar Dairy to a leader who holds Congress ideology and joined the party recently.

There are a total of 18 directors in Sabar Dairy, out of which 17 are said to be originally associated with the BJP. Despite the availability of 17 original BJP directors, and specifically around 13 directors, several questions have arisen as priority is being given to Vipul Patel's name. There are local discussions that ignoring leaders who have worked for the party's ideology for more than 30 years and were hoping for an important position, and instead giving importance to a newly joined person, could negatively impact the morale of the workers. Talks about Vipul Patel's good relations with top Congress leaders have also become a subject of discussion in political circles.

On the other hand, according to the TV9 Gujarati report, there are discussions that efforts to make Vipul Patel the Chairman have begun even before the BJP declares the official mandate. In this entire process, the role of Babu Bardan has become extremely important and controversial. According to sources, Babu Bardan has undertaken the task of uniting the directors by pushing Vipul Patel's name forward. It is also discussed that from yesterday evening, 8 to 10 directors were kept at a hotel in Gandhinagar so that a political strategy could be formulated to make Vipul Patel the Chairman. In the previous term, it was discussed that a similar strategy was adopted against Shamal Patel, and now it has come to light that a strategy is being adopted again to take directors to a secret location and make a new face the Chairman.

Many political equations were seen during the BJP's sense process as well. Some MLAs and MPs remained away from this process, while some MLAs made their representations before the observers. The observers also informed the organisational leadership about the local dissatisfaction and the current political situation. According to sources, there are discussions that after the sense process, affidavits in support of Vipul Patel were also obtained from some directors. It is now claimed that only the official seal is pending. After previous incidents in Sumul, Tapi, Vadodara, and Lodhika dairies, how effective the official BJP mandate will be in Sabar Dairy has become a major challenge for the state leadership.

Amidst this controversy, the silence of Agriculture and Cooperation Minister Jitu Vaghani is also under discussion. He avoided answering questions asked by TV9 regarding the name for the Chairman's post and allegations of corruption in the dairy. Questions are also being raised regarding alleged irregularities, the dominance of contractors, and Sabardan in Sabar Dairy. There is dissatisfaction among cattle rearers regarding the quality of feed given to animals, and allegations have been made that animals are falling sick due to the feed, although it is also discussed that no evidence was found in lab testing. In such circumstances, the selection for the new leadership has become more controversial.

Currently, the political tension between Shamal Patel and Vipul Patel is at its peak. The BJP state leadership has now come into action regarding this entire matter. A call for a meeting has been sent to the directors of Sabar Dairy from the BJP high command. According to information, a meeting is to be held today at 5 pm at the residence of Minister Raman Solanki, where BJP General Secretary Ajay Brahmbhatt will discuss with the directors. It is likely that the final discussion regarding the candidate for the Chairman's post will take place in this meeting. It remains to be seen whether the final decision will be taken under the leadership of the Chief Minister and State President Jagdish Vishwakarma, or whether the strategy prepared at the local level will succeed. Since cooperative leaders have a significant contribution in Assembly and Lok Sabha elections, this decision has become politically very sensitive. Whether the state BJP will bow to local pressure or implement its mandate will become clear only after the next election.