Baroda Dairy polls: BJP MLA chairman, Congress leader VC

VADODARA: BJP's Padra MLA Dinesh Patel alias Dinu Mama got elected as chairman and Congress leader G B Solanki as vice-chairman in the elections for the two top posts of Baroda Dairy that were held on Saturday.
Elections for the top posts were held after much legal drama with two BJP MLAs from the district taking opposite stands in the Gujarat high court.
Baroda Dairy's present board comprises of 13 board members, including four each backed by the BJP, Congress and independents while one vote is that of the district registrar.
The district dairy Union's outgoing chairman - Karjan's BJP MLA Satish Patel nee Neshaliya - was on slippery grounds ever since all board members of the cooperative union unanimously passed a resolution in June this year to begin the process of holding elections for the two top posts within 30 days of the annual general body meeting (AGM).
The Karjan MLA had maintained a stand against holding elections. But on June 16, eight out of 12 elected directors, including those linked with BJP and Congress had written a letter to Neshaliya demanding that the elections be held within a month from the date of AGM as per the bye-laws of the cooperative union. This move was backed by BJP's Padra MLA.
It was after Gujarat high court's intervention that the district administration had appointed H K Vyas as returning officer for the polls.
On Saturday, by the time the meeting for the elections started, the Karjan MLA's camp realized that it did not have strength of numbers in its favour.
Eventually, Neshaliya and his supporters decided not to contest the polls. The state BJP leadership on the other hand maintained a stand that it will not get involved in the cooperative politics. This made way for Dinu Mama getting elected as chairman and G B Solanki as vice-chairman uncontested.