Surat: In a major upset, the Kisan Parivartan Panel swept the election to the managing committee of Bardoli Sugar Factory, defeating all candidates of the ruling Sahkar Panel and securing control of one of the country’s major sugar cooperatives. The factory, formally known as Shree Khedut Sahakari Khand Udyog Mandli Ltd, is among the largest in the country in terms of crushing capacity.A key upset was the defeat of BJP’s Bardoli MLA Ishwar Parmar, who lost to Tarun Patel. Patel polled 1,424 votes against Parmar’s 882. The result is noteworthy as Parmar had defeated Congress candidate Patel in the 2017 Gujarat assembly election from the Bardoli constituency, highlighting the distinct political dynamics at play in cooperative elections.Polling for 14 seats was held on August 16, with 29 candidates in the fray. Of the 15 seats on the managing committee, one, reserved for a representative of a cooperative mandli, was filled unopposed. Of the 2,412 eligible members, 43% exercised their franchise. Counting was held on Monday at Astan Kanya Vidhyalay, where the Kisan Parivartan Panel emerged victorious on all 14 contested seats, signalling a major shift in control of the cooperative.Former Surat district panchayat president and BJP functionary Bhavesh Patel, who was vice-chairman of the outgoing board, also suffered defeat.Tension was reported after the counting when Parmar was allegedly pushed by some people in the crowd and subjected to abusive language while leaving the campus.Local cooperative observers attributed the outcome to growing dissatisfaction among farmers over the functioning of the cooperative. “There was anger among farmers over the management of the sugar cooperative, particularly over the devaluation of share prices, the lower price paid for sugarcane and the development of the Rs 70-crore waste-to-electricity plant, which did not perform as expected,” said Jayesh Solanki, chairman of Bardoli Nagrik Sahkari Bank.The outcome could also have implications for the broader political dynamics in the cooperative sector of south Gujarat. While a majority of BJP-backed candidates were elected to the board of Sumul dairy, the election of its chairman and vice-chairman, scheduled for Monday, has been postponed. BJP sources attributed the delay to a lack of consensus and differences between two factions.
