Amid political turmoil, Amul and Nandini stand united to boost rural income

Amid the ongoing political battle between Congress and BJP over the entry of Amul into Bengaluru, Amul Managing Director Jayen Mehta has clarified that it has never been a competition between Amul and Nandini. Both are cooperatives and owned by farmers and have been working together for decades to make India the largest producer of milk in the world. The allegations that Amul is working against Nandini is a misinformation campaign by Congress, according to BJP.

The controversy began in December 2022 when Union Home Minister Amit Shah talked about the collaboration between Amul and Nandini to enhance the income of rural households, particularly women, as it happened in Gujarat. The debate resurfaced on April 5 when Amul announced its plan to enter the Karnataka market, which has been facing a shortage of milk products, particularly ghee, for some time.

The outrage over Amul's possible entry into Karnataka intensified when Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President DK Shivakumar visited a Nandini store in Hassan and purchased a few products as a show of support for the brand. Protests were also held by pro-Kannada groups in Bengaluru and Mysuru opposing the Gujarat giant's entry into the Karnataka market.

Brand Nandini, operated by Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF), sources milk from around 2.6 million families in Mysuru and Central Karnataka regions via 16 district cooperatives and supplies milk and other dairy products to every part of Karnataka and also to neighbouring Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Kerala.

The social media platforms were abuzz with Kannadigas denouncing the move, with many using hashtags such as ‘#SaveKMF' and ‘#AmulGoBack' trending on Twitter. The Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) began its operations in 1974, nearly 28 years after the first cooperative dairy was established in Kaira in Gujarat's Anand district, leading to the formation of Amul.