Board members pull up socks for Rs 3,600 crore GCMMF chairmanship

Vadodara, Mar 21 (UNI) A day after 'Milkman of India' Dr Verghese Kurien made an unceremonious exit from the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), intensive lobbying has begun for the chairmanship of the Rs 3,600 crore organisation.

According to federation sources, a new chairman, to be elected from among the 12 board members representing different GCMMF-affiliated district cooperative milk producers' unions in Gujarat, is expected to take charge by the end of this month.

Since Dr Kurien has resigned, the board members, who had earlier threatened to move a no-confidence motion against him in the next board meeting slated for March 24, would now formally discuss and accept the resignation paving the way for election to the coveted post, the process for which would begin with the issue of a notification by the Anand district collector.

Sources said the election to the post is not likely to be a smooth affair as there are as many as six members who seriously aspire to head the country's largest dairy cooperative, with the blessings of their respective party leaderships.

However, the three front runners for the posts include - former Minister and Mehsana dairy union Chairman Vipul Choudhury, Valsad union Chairman Mogabhai Desai and Panchmahals union Chairman and BJP MP Bhupendrasinh Solanki.

Dr Kurien (84), who is regarded as the 'father of the white revolution' in the country, had yesterday tendered his resignation as member and chairman of the federation after heading the organisation since its inception in 1973, as 10 of the 12 elected members in the GCMMF board expressed their lack of confidence in him and threated to move a motion to this effect during the next board meeting on March 24.

Peeved by the no-confidence move of the board members, the Magsaysay and Padma Vibhushan awardee, who served the cooperative dairy sector for over five decades, alleged that the board had become a ''pawn in the bigger gameplan of some vested interests bent upon capturing this apex body of milk co-operatives in Gujarat.'' UNI SS GK LR BS1642