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Customers at a Nandini milk shop in Bengaluru. The Amul vs Nandini controversy has given ammunition to opposition parties to corner the ruling BJP. (Image: PTI/Shailendra Bhojak)
A whopping 26 lakh farmers supply milk to Karnataka Milk Federation daily. There are around 15,000 small milk societies in 28,000 villages while the federation employs around 2 lakh workers
The Amul versus Nandini controversy has given ammunition to the opposition to invoke the Kannada pride and corner the BJP. But the BJP is not too worried about this narrative being built by opposition parties.
What has rattled the saffron camp is the impact this controversy could have on voters, directly and indirectly linked to the Karnataka Milk Federation.
Sheer reach and spread of KMF
A whopping 26 lakh farmers supply around 82 lakh litres of milk to the federation on a daily basis. There are around 15,000 small milk societies spread across 28,000 villages. The Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) also provides employment to around two lakh workers.
Chairperson Balachandra Jarkiholi, who is a BJP MLA, expressed his suspicion that the opposition is raking up this controversy due to the sheer reach and spread of the KMF.
“Elections are here. Even if 10 lakh farmers supply milk every day and there are four to five people in each family, then you are instigating 50 lakh people. The opposition parties are trying to brainwash them. They won’t talk about it after elections,” said Jarkiholi.
The BJP tried hard to play down the issue to ensure it does not cost the party in the upcoming elections. “The first two days, we didn’t respond appropriately but we managed to do some damage control after that,” said a BJP leader, who did not want to be named.
Milk unions crucial springboard for politicians
Out of 26 lakh farmers supplying milk to the KMF, a majority of them are from the Old Mysuru region. Around 61 seats spread over Kolar, Chikkaballapur, Bengaluru rural, Tumakuru, Ramanagara, Mandya, Mysuru, Chamarajanagar, Kodagu and Hassan districts play a major role in the polls. The JD(S) has traditionally performed well here and the Congress is the principal challenger. Former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy was one of the first to amplify the issue.
“This could hurt the BJP if the opposition parties keep it up till polling day or the Amul move actually starts hurting farmers. Otherwise it might not be on the minds of farmers,” said senior journalist BS Arun.
The opposition Congress is trying to keep the issue alive. Even at the ‘Jai Bharat’ rally in Kolar, former chief minister Siddaramaiah accused union home minister Amit Shah of creating artificial scarcity of Nandini products to help Amul gain a foothold in Karnataka.
“After becoming cooperation minister, Amit Shah tried to merge Nandini with Amul. Now he is trying to market Amul products in Karnataka. He is creating artificial shortage of Nandini products to bring Amul to Karnataka. From 99 lakh litres, milk production has reduced to 81 lakh litres,” he alleged.
The milk unions are a crucial springboard for several politicians. Home minister Araga Jnanendra and other politicians trace their roots back to milk unions. Several opposition leaders believe that the formation of the union ministry of cooperation in 2021 was a sinister plan to take over powerful cooperatives in the state and, thereby, capture political space at district levels.
At present, 18 directors on the KMF board are affiliated to either the JD(S) or Congress, while Jarkiholi is the only BJP-affiliated director.
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