Surat: Five of the 16 managing committee seats in the upcoming Sumul Dairy elections have been declared uncontested after no rival candidates filed nominations, while the remaining 11 seats are headed for keen contests.The elections to south Gujarat’s leading dairy cooperative have generated significant interest across the region. Sumul procures and supplies around 12.5 lakh litres of milk daily through a network of nearly 2.5 lakh cattle farmers and records an annual turnover of about Rs 7,000 crore.A total of 38 candidates have filed nominations for the remaining 11 seats. Scrutiny of nomination papers will be held on Saturday, while candidates can withdraw their nominations between June 29 and July 4. The final list of contesting candidates will be finalised after 3pm on July 4 and officially published by the election officials on July 6.Polling is scheduled for July 15, with vote counting and declaration of results on July 17.The unopposed winners are Sandeep Desai (Choryasi), Rajesh alias Raju Pathak (Mangrol), Bharatsinh Solanki (Palsana), Balvant Patel (Kamrej) and Ajit Patel (Bardoli).Several constituencies, including Mahuva, Vyara, Valod, Songadh, Nizar and Kukarmunda, are expected to witness multi-cornered contests, with four or more candidates in the fray.Sources said, cooperative leaders are also working to increase the number of uncontested seats before the withdrawal deadline. Efforts are also under way to ensure three more candidates are elected unopposed. If successful, BJP-backed candidates could secure up to eight of the 16 seats even before polling. However, in a few constituencies, BJP-affiliated members have filed nominations against the party-backed candidates, making the political heat up over the next few days.
