Co-operatives & Maharashtra Politics PDF

# Co-operatives - How has their leadership affected Maharashtra Politics? **3** **Ashok S. Chousalkar** Politics in Maharashtra today is influenced by the co-operative elites who control the different areas of rural Maharashtra with the help of co-operative institutions. These institutions have p...

# Co-operatives - How has their leadership affected Maharashtra Politics? **3** **Ashok S. Chousalkar** Politics in Maharashtra today is influenced by the co-operative elites who control the different areas of rural Maharashtra with the help of co-operative institutions. These institutions have proved to be the sinews of political power. They encouraged the class of rich farmers to grow cash-crops and ushered in a 'Green Revolution' in the irrigated areas of the state. Since 1969–70, the co-operative sector has played a very important political role in the state. It is rightly pointed out that state politics, co-operative politics and Panchayati Raj politics are closely interrelated and they greatly influence each other. The relationship between these three sectors is ultimately determined by the politics of the Congress Party, as state power can only be captured with the help of the Congress Party, which has been the dominant party in the state. In the present paper, an attempt is made to study the influence of co-operatives on state politics, especially after 1967–68. **1** ## After the formation of the Maharashtra state in 1960 The first Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Mr. Y.B. Chawan wanted to establish an agro-industrial society in the state. He wanted all-round development of the state by developing agriculture, industries, cooperation and education. He sought to encourage the latent forces of development by allowing the people in the rural areas to establish processing units in the countryside in the co-operative field. He laid special emphasis upon the importance of different co-operative credit societies and especially the service co-operatives. Mr. Chavan thought that the service co-operatives at the village level would prove to be the foundations of the co-operative sector. Maharashtra government made special efforts to encourage the co-operative movement in the state because Mr. Chavan thought that through the co-operative institutions, popular support for the development activities could be mobilised and secondly, by democratising these bodies, a firm political base in the rural areas could be established. Therefore, he encouraged the Congress leaders to join the co-operative movement and he liberally distributed positions of power in the co-operative field to the leaders who joined the Congress after 1960. Thus, Chavan opened a new avenue of political power and influence to the rural elite by establishing the Panchayati Raj bodies in 1962 and by broadening the field of co-operative activities. Thus, development of the rural areas by penetrating deep into the interior through these institutions and striking deep roots in the rural areas were the twin objectives of Mr. Chavan. Therefore, it is rightly said that the relationship between politics and co-operation is symbiotic and one cannot be separated from the other. The co-operative movement becomes important for politics because: 1. It is a means for political leaders to have access to the rural areas. 2. Through the co-operative institutions, political leaders can develop a vast network of supporters and clients which would help them at the time of elections. This network is developed through the distribution of valued goods. 3. The co-operatives possess a lot of material resources in cash and kind and they can be used at the time of elections. The sugar co-operatives have become centres of power and influence and therefore, every M.P. or M.L.A. wants to establish a co-operative sugar factory in his constituency. In the co-operative sector, normally, two sets of co-operative institutions have attracted the attention of political leaders: 1. The first set is the co-operative credit societies whose power is symbolised in the district central co-operative banks 2. The second comprises processing co-operatives such as sugar co-operatives, spinning mills and groundnut oil mills. They have neglected the co-operative institutions that market the agricultural produce of the farmers. In some areas, the political leaders are now taking interest in developing milk co-operatives. The district central co-operative bank is a pivot of development activities in the district, including provision of short-term agricultural credit to the farmers. Earlier, these banks were in the hands of urban leaders, but subsequently the by-laws of the bank were amended and room was made for the entry of political leaders from the rural areas in these institutions. The D.C.C. Banks are based on primary credit societies. After 1960, many leading political leaders of the state, such as Vasant Dada Patil, Gulabrao Patil, Bhausaheb Thorat, Kisan Veer, Ratnappa Kumbhar and U. Gaekwad, occupied important positions in these banks. More important than the district central bank is the role of sugar co-operatives in Maharashtra. The processing co-operatives did not do well as far as cotton, groundnut and grapes were concerned. The co-operative spinning mills in Kolhapur district survived; elsewhere, they were not that successful. The sugar co-operatives in the state proved to be successful and they attracted the attention of the rural elite because through sugar co-operatives, these leaders can carve out their own support base in the rural areas by developing a network of supporters. Though the co-operative movement began in the name of farmers and the co-operative institutions did help farmers in the irrigated areas, the movement was essentially dominated by the class of rich farmers, who established a close relationship with traders and businessmen in the urban areas. This class forged close links with the Bombay-based capitalists, but the slogan of "Power to Villages" is mouthed to legitimise their authority. In the subsequent pages, first, we shall discuss politics within the co-operative institutions and secondly, we shall discuss how it has affected politics in Maharashtra. # **II** As we have seen in our earlier discussion, co-operatives have become an important arena of state politics. The first few rounds of state politics are in fact played at the level of co-operatives because in the politics are in face politics, co-operative politics and Panchayati Raj politics are closely intertwined and are essentially mediated through the Congress Party. The factional struggle in the Congress Party gets reflected in the politics of co-operatives. The district central co-operative bank is a pivot of rural politics because credit to farmers, processing units and to different development activities is supplied through the channels of the D.C.C. Bank. The structure of the bank has been democratised and the chairmanship of the bank is a seat of power. All the D.C.C. banks are intensely politicised, and the factional leaders try their level best to establish control over them. We have two models of politics in the D.C.C. Bank: 1. The Sangli model 2. The Kolhapur model In the Sangli District Central Co-operative Bank, the main leader of the district, Mr. Vasant Dada Patil, decided that the D.C.C. Bank should be managed by Mr. Gulabrao Patil. Therefore, there was no factional struggle in the bank till 1980. During this period, Mr. Gulabrao Patil developed a network of supporters at the local level and established links with the state and the national leadership. He became the Chairman of the Maharashtra State Co-operative Federation in 1973 and Chairman of the Maharashtra State Co-operative Bank in 1980. In 1978–79, his political career gained an upward swing when he joined the Congress(I) against the wishes of Y.B. Chavan and Vasant Dada Patil. He forged an alliance with Mr. A.R. Antulay and became the President of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee. He very narrowly missed the post of Chief Minister in 1982. Mr. Gulabrao Patil symbolised the power of district central co-operative banks and was one of the most important leaders to come from that sector. He was allowed to enjoy monopoly power due to the then prevailing balance of strength of the different factions in the district. But in other districts, the politics of Panchayati Raj institutions and sugar co-operatives is closely intertwined with politics in the D.C.C. banks. Dr. Baviskar has discussed it in his study on Nagar District. The Kolhapur District Central Co-operative Bank is an arena of factional politics because the district Congress has been badly divided between two equally powerful groups. Three leaders from the Bank, Mr. Ratnappa Kumbhar, U. Gaikwad and Sripatrao Bondre, became ministers in the State Government after 1975 and they developed their support structure and network of clients with the help of the Bank. Mr. Bondre, Mr. Gaikwad and Mr. Kumbhar could not be completely dislodged from their positions because of the deep roots of their support. Apart from his control of sugar co-operatives, Mr. R. Kumbhar survived many an electoral battle because of the support of financial bodies in the district. In the other districts of the state, normally, the Kolhapur model is emulated. Sugar co-operatives are really the sinews of political power and there are more than 100 co-operative sugar factories in the state. These co-operatives are hotbeds of politics, and in every election for the board of directors, millions of rupees are spent. The sugar co-operatives possess a lot of material resources and these resources are used at the time of assembly elections. Normally, every sugar co-operative is controlled by a caucus, and it is extremely difficult to dislodge that caucus from power. Shetkari at Sangli, Panchganga at Ichalkaranji, Krishna at Karad and Prawara at Prawara Nagar were the factories controlled by four big leaders of Maharashtra politics, Mr. Vasant Dada Patil, Mr. Ratnappa Kumbhar, Mr. Y.J. Mohite and Mr. Balasaheb Vikhe Patil. When there was a conflict between Mr. J. Bhosale and his brother Mr. Y.J. Mohite, there was a change in the leadership as Mr. Mohite wrested control from Mr. Bhosale. Otherwise, an outsider has no chance to dislodge these powerful sugar barons. Normally, these sugar barons contest State Assembly or Lok Sabha elections and win their seats comfortably; for example, Mr. E.V. Vikhe has been winning the Lok Sabha elections since 1971. Sometimes, these leaders are defeated in the elections; for example, Mr. Shankarrao Mohite lost in the assembly elections of 1978. Mr. Kumbhar was defeated in the 1980 elections and Mr. Vishnu Pant Patil lost the Sangli by-election in 1986. But these are exceptions. Otherwise, even opposition leaders win the elections if they are supported by the sugar co-operatives. Mr. Govindrao Kalikate, Mr. Nagnath Naikwadi and Mr. P.K. Patil won elections to the State Assembly on the strength of their factories. Therefore, there is a clamour for the establishment of sugar co-operatives among the political leaders, and in South Maharashtra, almost every taluka has a sugar co-operative. Most of these sugar co-operatives are not properly managed, and barring the factories from Western Maharashtra, most of the factories in Vidarbha and Marathwada are sick. They do not have the sugarcane cultivation and their management techniques are faulty. There is a lot of waste, but these factories are considered politically viable and hence they are allowed to proliferate. # **III** Politics in the sugar co-operatives and the co-operative banks are intimately linked with politics at the state level. For the co-operatives, state politics is important because the State Government exercises ultimate control over the co-operatives. The attraction of political power cannot be resisted because the State Government has a greater capacity to allocate the desired values. Secondly, the State Government can take decisions which could prove dangerous to the co-operatives because the Government can exercise tight control through the Director for Co-operatives. There are many irregularities in the management of factories and the co-operative leaders want the government to condone them. Therefore, most of the sugar co-operative leaders normally side with the ruling party and exercise influence over state politics through their pressure group tactics. For that purpose, a large number of co-operative elites came together and formed the sugar lobby under the leadership of Mr. Vasant Dada Patil in 1968–69, because they wanted to consolidate their gains and prevent the then Minister for Co-operation, Mr. Vinayakrao Patil from making changes in the by-laws of the banks and factories. From then on, Mr. Vasant Dada Patil and his politics symbolised the politics of the co-operative sector. After 1972, the sugar co-operatives became a subject of debate because of bad management, corruption and the ostentatious lifestyles of the Presidents of the co-operatives. Some movements were launched against their domination. The gains of development were cornered by the rich farmers. The seasonal work-force of cane workers was greatly exploited without any protection and the ecology of the area and public health were endangered. The co-operatives also contributed to regional imbalances in development. Due to the several factors that closely bind the people to the sugar barons, the people have lost political initiative. But they are increasingly facing problems of drinking water, employment and water-logging. The snap defeat of Mr. Vasant Dada Patil's nephew in the Assembly by-election of 1986 for the Sangli constituency, can be attributed to these grievances. The co-operative leaders have thus greatly influenced politics in the state with the help of their money-power and resources. # **IV** State politics since 1960 has been dominated by the Congress party and the Congress governments under Mr. Y.B. Chavan and Mr. V.P. Naik, encouraged the establishment of the agro-industrial society through the co-operatives and the Panchayati Raj bodies. Therefore, in 1968, a large number of sugar factories were established in the co-operative field. During this period, the State Congress was tightly controlled by Mr. Y.B. Chavan and he successfully mediated in the different factional struggles. In 1967–68, the then Chief Minister, Mr.V.P. Naik, sought to clip the wings of the newly-emerging sugar barons by restricting the Presidentship of the factory to 6 years, but the leaders from the co-operative sector opposed it. Mr. Vasant Dada Patil opposed it. Meanwhile, Mr. Vasant Dada Patil was made the President of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee and he began to consolidate the power of the co-operative sector by using his position as the President of the M.P.C.C. After 1972, Mrs. Gandhi wanted to break the monopoly of power of Mr. Y.B. Chavan and she very shrewdly used Mr. V.P. Naik for that purpose. During this period, several powerful co-operative leaders such as Mr. R.A. Patil, Mr. Y.J. Mohite, Mr. D.S. Desai, Mr. Sharad Pawar, became ministers. In 1972, Mr. Vasant Dada Patil joined the Naik Government as irrigation minister. He was Number Two in the Cabinet. But in 1974–75, Dada, Pawar, P.K. Sawant and Mohite, raised the banner of revolt against Mr. V.P. Naik, because they thought that Naik was trying to destroy their bases. Mr. Naik was replaced by Mr. S.B. Chavan, who was an opponent of Mr. Y.B. Chavan and Mr. Vasant Dada Patil. Mr. Chavan knew the power of co-operatives, hence he decided to move against them. His task was greatly facilitated by the declaration of internal emergency in 1975. Mr. S.B. Chavan dropped Mr. Vasant Dada Patil from the government and began taking action against the rich farmers by declaring that the outstanding loans would be realised from them. He also made it clear that there would be restrictions on the supply of canal water to the sugarcane growers. These policies of Chavan greatly angered the sugar lobby, and it was waiting for an opportunity to dislodge Mr. Chavan from power. In 1977, the Congress Party was defeated in the parliamentary elections. Mr. Vasant Dada Patil quickly moved and mobilised his supporters to remove Mr. S.B. Chavan from power. In May 1977, he was removed from the Chief Ministership and Mr. Vasant Dada Patil became the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. This was a triumph of the sugar lobby - for the first time in the history of the state, their leader became the Chief Minister. The policies and programmes of Mr. Patil's Government were openly pro-rich and he went out of his way to placate the vested interests. He allowed the sugar barons to continue for more than 6 years as the Presidents of their units. But the Congress Party was divided in 1978 and similarly, the sugar lobby also divided as one group supported Mr. Patil and another equally powerful group supported Mr. Sharad Pawar. Two smaller groups supported Mr. S.B. Chavan and the Janata Party. Mr. Sharad Pawar formed the Progressive Democratic Front Government with the support of the Janata Party. During this most difficult period, Mr. Vasant Dada Patil valiantly held his fort. In the parliamentary elections of 1980, the two powerful groups of the sugar lobby, led by Mr. Vasant Dada Patil and Mr. Sharad Pawar, clashed and in almost all the places, Pawar's candidates were defeated. The sugar lords realised that the legitimising power of the Congress party is necessary to win democratic elections. Many sugar barons left the Congress(S) to join the Congress(I). Even Mr. Y.B. Chavan did so in April 1981. The Congress leadership wanted to reduce the influence of the sugar lobby, therefore, it did not encourage Mr. Patil and selected Mr. A.R. Antulay as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Mr. Patil had, by then, emerged as the chief representative of the co-operative field. Antulay did try to win the support of the people by using the government machinery. He established the Indira Gandhi Pratibha Pratishthan and sought donations from the sugar co-operatives and the builders. The co-operatives donated the requisite amount, but caught Mr. Antulay in a trap. As a result, Mr. Antulay had to resign. Mr. B.A. Bhosale succeeded him. The Congress was defeated in its strongholds in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, and Mrs. Gandhi decided to change her strategy of splitting the main community of the state. Hence, she appointed Mr. Vasant Dada Patil as the Chief Minister in 1983. Mr. Vasant Dada continued as the Chief Minister till June 1985 and resigned the post because he disapproved the appointment of Mrs Prabha Rao as the President of the M.P.C.C. He was succeeded by Mr. Shivajirao Patil Nilangekar. In 1986, Sharad Pawar decided to re-join the Congress Party. But Mr. Nilangekar was removed, and Mr. S.B. Chavan was brought as the Chief Minister much to the chagrin of Mr. Patil who was nursing his wounds in the Jaipur Raj Bhavan. Mr. S.B. Chavan resumed his attack on the organised co-operative sector and accused the leaders of the sugar co-operatives of enslaving the people. He decided to restrict the powers of the co-operatives, and towards that end, declared that the private trusts set up by the co-operatives would come under the jurisdiction of the board of directors. Instead of supplying canal water for sugarcane for 12 months, the policy to supply water for 8 months would be pursued. He criticised the sugar lobby for its corruption and began successfully exploiting the differences among them. He made inroads in the Sangli district. As a result, Mr. Vasant Dada Patil resigned his post as the Governor of Rajasthan and brought the anti-Chavan forces together. In that process, he made it clear that Mr. Sharad Pawar was his political heir. In June 1988, the Congress candidate was defeated in the Assembly by-elections of Parle and Mr. V.P. Singh won from Allahabad. Mr. Patil and Mr. Pawar convinced the Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi that the Congress would suffer defeat in Maharashtra if Mr. S.B. Chavan was allowed to continue as the Chief Minister of the state. As a result, Mr. Sharad Pawar succeeded him as the Chief Minister. Mr. Pawar enjoys the support of the sugar lobby. In the preceding discussions, we have seen how co-operatives affect the politics of Maharashtra. The sugar lobby essentially functions as a pressure group, but it cannot openly challenge the ruling party as such, because the sugar barons can lose elections despite spending a lot of money, as has happened several times. The problem is proper democratisation of the sugar co-operatives by amending the election system of the board of directors. Sugar co-operatives have definitely improved the financial strength of the Congress Party and allowed the political elites to penetrate deep into the interior. But at the same time, they have used their power and resources to manipulate state politics # **REFERENCES** 1. Kamat A.R. Social Change after Independence (Marathi), Magova, Pune, 1982, pp. 84–85. 2. Inamdar N.R. "The politicisation process in the election to the Co-operative sugar factories and District Central Co-operative Banks", pp. 175–92. Contemporary India, Edited by Inamdar N.R. and others, Continental Prakashan, Pune, 1982. 3. Deshpande M.D. "Progress of Agro-Industrial Society" (M), pp. 1–10 25 years of Agro-Industrial Society, Edited by Mr. Garud, Samajvadi Prabodhini, Ichalkaranji, 1985. 4. Baviskar B.S "Milk and Sugar - A comparative analysis of Co-operative Societies", A paper read at the seminar on Politics and Development in Maharashtra, organised by the Dept. of Political Science, Shivaji University, Kolhapur, 1985. 5. Kamat A.R., op. cit., p. 85. 6. Rosenthal D., "Making it in Maharashtra", pp. 11–12, in Inamdar N.R. and others, op. cit. 7. Baviskar B.S., The Politics of Development: Sugar Co-operatives in Rural Maharashtra, Oxford University Press, Bombay 1980, pp. 203–11. 8. Patil S.J., Local Patterns of Politics in Sangli District, (Unpublished Ph.D. thesis accepted by Shivaji University, Kolhapur), 1987, pp. 75–88.) 9. Patil S., "The Nature of Social Economic and Political Change in rural Maharashtra", in 25 Years of Agro-Industrial Society, p. 63. 10. Baviskar B.S., op.cit., pp. 137–40. 11. Patil A.R., The Kolhapur District Central Co-operative bank - A Political Study, (Unpublished M. Phil. thesis accepted by Shivaji University, Kolhapur), 1990, pp. 148–54. 12. Patil S., "Politics of Sugar Co-operatives in Sangli District", a paper read at the seminar on Politics and Development in Maharashtra organised by Dept. of Politics, Shivaji University, Kolhapur, 1985. 13. Rosenthal W.B., op. cit., p. 21. 14. Bholey B.L., "Ruling Political Leadership in Maharashtra" (M), a paper read at the seminar on Politics and Development in Maharashtra, organised by Dept. of Political Science, Shivaji University, Kolhapur, 1985. 15. Ibid. 16. Chousalkar A.S., "Recent Trends in Maharashtra Politics", pp. 78–92 in Ideas, Movements and Politics in India, edited by Kavlekar K.K. and Chousalkar A.S., Ajab, Kolhapur, 1986.) 17. Patil J.F., The Crisis in Co-operative (M), Samajvadi Prabodhini, Ichalkaranji, 1989, pp. 9–11.