Adivasi Villages Seek Unanimous Sarpanch Picks to Cut Poll Costs
Villagers are choosing their sarpanch irrespective of political party, surprising officials and observers.
Adilabad: Adivasi leaders and village elders across the erstwhile Adilabad district have taken the initiative to push for unanimous elections for sarpanch seats reserved for STs, aiming to avoid heavy poll expenditure. In several villages, residents are electing their sarpanch unanimously even without candidates filing formal nominations.
Villagers are choosing their sarpanch irrespective of political party, surprising officials and observers. Their intention is to curb election-related spending and demonstrate unity for the development of their gram panchayats.
Some villages have already finalised unanimous candidates despite the state government not announcing any incentives for such panchayats this time, unlike the previous BRS government, which had rewarded GPs that elected sarpanches unanimously. It is still unclear whether officials will accept these unanimous decisions without formal nomination filings.
To facilitate consensus, Scheduled Tribe leaders are holding community meetings involving hamlets within each gram panchayat. They are convincing both villagers and aspiring candidates to agree on a single name. First, they seek broad agreement and then formalise the selection unanimously.
In Tejapur gram panchayat of Indravelli mandal, villagers unanimously declared former MPTC member Kova Rajeshwar as their sarpanch, following consultations with elders from Saleguda, Mohanguda, Dobhiguda and Tejapur. Tejapur village headman Madavi Chithru said they opted for a unanimous election to avoid the financial burden on candidates and to focus on GP development.
Similarly, villagers of Valgonda gram panchayat declared Kanaka Sunita as sarpanch. In Sirikonda mandal, village elders announced Pendore Laxman, while in Indravelli mandal, Kodapa Sriram and Mode Mohan were named sarpanch and upa-sarpanch respectively.
In Pembi mandal of Nirmal district, villagers of Pasupula, Janguguda, Kistanaik Thanda, Kosagutta and Ramnagar gram panchayats have also unanimously selected their sarpanch candidates. In Utnoor mandal, residents of Gangapur gram panchayat announced a unanimous choice as well.
According to sources, in the last sarpanch elections, 167 out of 467 gram panchayats in Adilabad district elected their leaders unanimously. Although the government then announced a reward of ₹10 lakh for such panchayats, the funds were never released.
