Ashok Chaudhary, head of Mehsana&rsquo;s Dudhsagar Dairy, has been elected as the new Chairman of the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), while Gordhan Dhamelia of Rajkot&rsquo;s Gopal Dairy has been selected as Vice Chairman. The appointments were made following an election held in Anand on Tuesday, marking the end of the previous leadership term and the beginning of a fresh two-and-a-half-year tenure.
The voting took place in line with GCMMF&rsquo;s established bylaws and was overseen by Anand District Collector Praveen Chaudhary. The federation&rsquo;s 18-member board, comprising chairpersons of Gujarat&rsquo;s district milk unions, participated in the election process. Each board member cast one regular vote along with additional weighted votes, which were allocated based on the volume of business their respective dairies carried out with GCMMF during the past financial year.
The voting members represented dairies from across the state, including Shamal Patel (Sabarkantha), Valamji Humbal (Kutch), Vipul Patel (Anand), Shankar Chaudhary (Banaskantha), Ashok Chaudhary (Mehsana), Mansinh Patel (Surat), Gaman Patel (Valsad), Dinesh Patel (Vadodara), Jetha Bharwad (Godhra), Mohan Bharwad (Abad), Shankarsinh Rana (Gandhinagar), Gordhan Dhamelia (Rajkot), Ghanshyam Patel (Bharuch), Naresh Maru (Surendranagar), Ashwin Savaliya (Amreli), Mahendra Panot (Bhavnagar), Dinesh Khataria (Junagadh), and Akash Rajshakh (Porbandar).
Chaudhary, who has now assumed leadership of the federation, comes from Chitrodipura village in Visnagar and belongs to the 12 Gaam Chaudhary community. His political and administrative portfolio includes tenures as Mehsana Municipality President and General Secretary of Mehsana District.&nbsp;
He also previously served as a Director of the Gujarat State Housing Board and currently holds a role on the Women Empowerment Scheme Committee. Re-elected as Dudhsagar Dairy Chairman recently, he is also considered a key youth figure within the BJP in Mehsana, holding notable influence in his community.
Gordhan Dhamelia, now Vice Chairman, was among the 18 district dairy heads who participated in the vote. The post he has assumed was established in 2015 following an amendment to GCMMF&rsquo;s governing rules and was earlier held by Jetha Bharwad of Panchamrut Dairy and, most recently,y by Valamji Humbal.
The outgoing leadership team of Chairman Shamal Patel (Sabarkantha) and Vice Chairman Valamji Humbal (Sarhad Dairy, Kutch) had completed back-to-back terms spanning five years. Patel&rsquo;s re-election prospects were reportedly affected by recent unrest linked to Sabar Dairy. Protests by milk producers in Himmatnagar, which turned violent, put Patel under political and organisational scrutiny.
GCMMF, formed in 1973, is responsible for the marketing of dairy products under the Amul brand. Its founding Chairman, Dr Verghese Kurien, led the federation until 2006 and was the last to do so without political ties. Leadership since then has rotated among major unions including Banas, Mehsana, Sabarkantha and Anand. Notable previous chairmen include Parthi Bhatol (Banas Dairy), Vipul Chaudhary (Dudhsagar), Jetha Patel and Shamal Patel (Sabar), and Ramsinh Parmar (Amul Dairy).
In developments leading up to the election, the BJP suspended former Matar MLA Kesrisinh Solanki. The suspension, initiated by the Gujarat BJP leadership, did not cite specific reasons but followed months of Solanki&rsquo;s public criticism of party officials and cooperative leaders.&nbsp;
He had also opposed the party&rsquo;s official candidates in local APMC and Purchase-Sale Union elections, fielding his own contenders. Solanki had recently accused Amul directors of involvement in a land scam and organised a protest march between Phagwel and Virpur.
Confirming the suspension, district BJP president Nayana Patel stated that Solanki had earlier received a show-cause notice for making &ldquo;baseless allegations&rdquo; and that his explanation was found unsatisfactory. The decision, she said, was made at the state party level.

GCMMF elects new leaders as dairy heads cast votes in crucial Anand-based federation polls

Ashok Chaudhary Elected GCMMF Chairman

GCMMF elects new leaders as dairy heads cast votes in crucial Anand-based federation polls

July 22, 2025 | 13:22 IST