In December, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, while at a rally in Mandya, spoke about Amul's entry to Karnataka, a piece of news that was not received well by the local federation and milk-producing belts of Karnataka. And by those who were slowly looking at making Karnataka's Nandini brand a household name in other states. On April 5, Amul tweeted, "A new wave of freshness with milk and curd is coming to Bengaluru."
On Sunday, Congress leader and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah alleged that Basavaraj Bommai's government was destroying the "state's pride." In a damage control exercise, Minister for Cooperatives ST Somashekhar announced that there was no proposal to merge KMF and Amul and criticized the opposition for politicizing the entry of Amul.
Nandini vs Amul: An issue of sentiments?
Nandini is the largest supplier of milk in Bengaluru and holds nearly 70% of the market. It's pricing, however, is said to be more competitive than Amul, currently selling at Rs 39 per liter. Amul is expected to enter the market at a much higher price point.
In a message of solidarity for their own state cooperative, the Bruhat Bengaluru Hotels Association announced that they will only use Nandini milk to "support the state's dairy farmers." The Association, though it did not name or criticize Amul, said that Kannadigas should only promote Nandini milk products.
"We are all proud of Karnataka's Nandini milk produced by our farmers and it should be encouraged. In our city, clean and delicious coffee stands as the backbone of snacks. And we encourage it with great pride. It is being heard that milk from other states is being shipped to Karnataka recently. We are all Nandini," read the statement issued by the association.
Karnataka Cooperative Milk Producer's Federation (KMF)
Called a rural network of sustainability, KMF is the apex body for the dairy cooperative movement in Karnataka. It comprises 22,000 villages and 24 lakh milk producer members and 14,000 milk cooperative societies. It reportedly procures 84 lakh kgs of milk per day and hence carries crucial electoral significance.
Political implications of the issue
The Assembly elections are due within a month and the entry of Amul, which is a Gujarat State Milk Cooperative Brand, has sparked a political row. Amul, backed by the BJP, is being seen as a threat because the identity of Kannadigans has always been closely and emotionally tied to the Karnataka Milk Federation brand Nandini. For decades now, it has been endorsed by popular actors of the region like Dr. Rajkumar, Puneeth Rajkumar, Upendra etc.
