The battle between Amul and Nandini in poll-bound Karnataka, explained

The group turnover of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which owns the Amul brand, stood at Rs 61,000 crore in FY22

Karnataka, the state that will go into polls in the month of May is currently undergoing a ‘milk war’, with politicians milking the corporate issue right before the assembly elections.

What exactly is the Amul vs Nandini battle? How does it affect the upcoming assembly elections in the state of Karnataka? This explainer sheds light on the matter.

On April 5, the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which sells dairy products under the brand name of Amul made an announcement to enter the Karnataka market to supply milk and curd, thus possibly overshadowing the the state's home-grown brand Nandini.

This provided the opposition parties yet another opportunity to fire ammunition against the ruling BJP government, given it emerged months after Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s announcement stating that the cooperation of the two brands could “do wonders” in the dairy sector. Shah also holds heads the Union Ministry of Cooperation.

Congress, the prime opposition party, and the JD(S) have already kept a close eye on the ruling BJP in the state, given that the elections are just a month. They have upped the ante against the saffron party amid allegations that Nandini, the Rs 21,000 crore-brand of the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF), might possibily be merged with the Gujarat-based Amul in the futur.

The opposition allegedly claims that the BJP wants a merger of the 49-year-old KMC’s Nandini with the Anand Milk Union Limited (AMUL) in an order to establish “one nation, one Amul” in the country. This charge has been rejected by the BJP.

AICC general secretary and Karnataka party in-charge Randeep Surjewala alleged the BJP was trying to "sell off" Nandini.

The former chief minister and the second-in-command of JD(S), H D Kumaraswamy also flayed the state government on this issue. He alleged Amul has this "bad thinking" to finish off its lone competitor Nandini in Karnataka itself. The BJP-led central government’s official policy is "One Nation, One Amul, One Milk and One Gujarat," he added.

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai stated that the government has clarity over the issue of Amul. He accused Congress of politicising the entry of Amul into Karnataka and stated, “We have absolute clarity with regard to Amul. Nandini is a national brand. It is not restricted to Karnataka. We have popularised Nandini as a brand in other states as well."

He also stressed the fact that multiple major dairies of KMF have been established during the BJP rule.

While a litre of Nandini's toned milk costs Rs 39, the same quantity of Amul is priced at Rs 52.

In December 2022, during the inauguration of KMF’s mega dairy in Mandya, Amit Shah said that the “cooperation between Amul and Nandini can do wonders in the dairy sector”. The opposition accused BJP of a plan for merging Nandini with Gujarat, which the ruling party denied.

Towards the end of March of this year, the FSSAI made a decision to write “Dahi” in Hindi on the packets of curd beside the local nomenclature, which was called out by the opposition as a means to impose the language.

Amul as well as many other brands have otherwise been selling butter, ghee, yoghurt as well as ice cream in the southern states for quite some time. These brands include Dodla and Heritahe (Telangana), Tirumala, Arokya and Milky Mist (TN) as well as Namdhari and Akshayakalpa (Karnataka).

The BJP government’s attempt to merge Amul with Nandini will create scarcity for the latter, thus making it less competitive with Amul. People will thus be bound to purchase Amul products once it is allowed to sell milk and curd.

BJP government has dismissed charges by stating that there is no active plan for merging Amul and Nandini. The CM also mentioned that the opposition is only attempting to mislead people and that milk production has otherwise increased during the rule of the saffron party.

Contrary to the statement issued by the current chief minister regarding the production of milk, the Bangalore Milk Union Ltd (BAMUL), which is a part of KMF has stated that production of milk has declined due to the summer season, something that happens each year. Milk production has fallen to 75 lakh litres a day from 90 lakh litres a day.

Nandini is a Rs 21,000 crore brand under the KMF, the second largest cooperation after Amul, as stated by the director of BAMUL, P Nagaraju. To compare, the director adds that Amul produces 1.8 crore litres of milk each day, whereas, KMF produces over 90 lakh litres of milk a day.

P Nagaraju states that while the milk prices are competitive, the quality of milk that Nandini produces is far superior. It has zero adulteration, a good network of milk producers as well as people’s pride in its products.

Nandini sells its products in other states like Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Maharashtra. Besides, some of its products are even exported. Then why can’t Amul do business in Karnataka? As per Nagaraju, the Maharashtra State Cooperative Milk Federation Limited, also popularly recognised as Mahanand Dairy has not done well in its business ever since Amul made an entry into the market. A similar situation prevailed in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh as well.

Also read: Pro-Kannada outfit stages protest against Amul in Bengaluru

Due to the heavy attachment of the Kannadigas to their home-grown brand Nandini, it is crucial for the Karnataka BJP to stay clean on the issue in order to avoid an adverse electoral impact on them. The opposition has fired ammunition in every way possible to hurt the Bommai-led government over the issue.