3 min readSuratJul 17, 2026 10:47 PM IST The BJP-backed Sahkar panel won 15 of the 16 seats in the board of the Surat-Tapi District Co-operative Milk Producers’ Union, popularly called SUMUL Dairy. With one seat going to an independent, the Congress-backed Pashupalak Heet Rakshak Samiti, which held three seats in the earlier body, has been wiped out. The elections to the board of directors of the dairy, which is part of the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation, owner of the Amul brand, was held on July 15. Before the elections, the Congress had shifted 11 of its candidates to a “safe place to protect them from being influenced” after the Sahkar panel won five seats uncontested. However, on the last day of withdrawal of nominations on July 4, two more seats were declared uncontested by the BJP panel, leaving nine seats to be contested. The seats that went uncontested are mostly from Surat district representing the milk unions of Mangrol, Uchhal, Valod, Kamrej, Palsana, Bardoli and Choryasi, where BJP MLA Sandip Desai won. Former …