Panchayat Polls Leave Aspirants in Debt and Despair

Candidates who contested the elections say they borrowed heavily, sold land, gold and other assets, and spent lavishly on liquor, meat, sarees and cash handouts to woo voters. Despite such efforts, many failed to win the confidence of the electorate. Several defeated candidates were seen openly weeping, lamenting the loss of money, honour and future prospects.

Across the erstwhile district, three-phase elections were held for 1,541-gram panchayat sarpanch posts and 11,971 ward member seats.

According to unofficial estimates, more than ₹2,000 crore was spent during the elections. In some major gram panchayats, individual sarpanch candidates reportedly spent ₹1.2 to ₹1.4 crore each, including direct cash distribution of up to ₹5,000 per voter. Additional amounts were allegedly spent on liquor and feasts. In one panchayat in Geesugonda mandal, total expenditure by competing candidates is said to have crossed ₹2 crore.

Many candidates admitted that expenses began even before the election notification, from securing party backing to persuading potential rivals not to contest. To fund their campaigns, several aspirants mortgaged gold, pledged property with banks or sold valuable land. Despite these expenditures, defeat has left them grappling with debt.

There are also reports of defeated candidates visiting households to demand the return of money given during the campaign, while some were involved in heated arguments with voters for not supporting them.

Out of 1,684 gram panchayats, 143 sarpanch posts and 2,629 ward seats were elected unanimously, while the remaining seats went to polls in the erstwhile district. A total of 5,285 candidates contested the sarpanch posts, of whom 3,744 were defeated. Similarly, 27,901 candidates contested ward member positions, with 15,930 facing defeat in the elections.