BIDAR: It’s not a man’s world anymore at least in Halasi Tugaon village in Bhalki taluk bordering Maharashtra where people have elected only women to the gram panchayat in the elections held last week. Even the oath taken by members after the victory was in the name of village deity Lakshmi Devi where the winners promised to serve honestly without getting corrupt.
And the reason for electing only women to the GP? Villagers wanted to avoid animosity among themselves by having a contest. The inspiration came from neighbouring Wanjarkhed village which had elected only women members to the GP during the period 2000-2005. In all, 16 women, from different categories such as SC/ST, BC, and general were elected of whom 12 were elected unopposed and the remaining four chosen on polling day.
At the oath taking ceremony on Saturday, all elected members including the lone Muslim candidate Shameem Bee wore similar coloured sarees. Interestingly the hero in the entire exercise is a male, Mr Subash Nelage, who contested the Bidar Lok Sabha seat unsuccessfully as a JD(S) candidate in 2014. He convinced the men folk that only women should be elected as they are more honest and better managers than men.
“I spent a lot of time convincing them that women don’t have bad habits like smoking, drinking and are not easily corrupted. The villagers agreed that instead of spending money on elections and fighting among themselves, they would field women and have a peaceful time”, Mr Nelge explained.
Quick to seize the opportunity, Bidar BJP MP Bhagwanth Khuba announced that he would adopt the village and develop it as a model one. He also promised to take the GP members to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to seek special assistance for developing the village.
