Dead Man Elected Sarpanch in Sircilla; Sister Dies After Brother Loses Poll in Jagtial

Karimnagar: Two emotionally charged and tragic incidents marked the first phase of gram panchayat election results in North Telangana on Friday, with villagers in one case electing a deceased candidate as sarpanch, and in another, a woman dying of cardiac arrest after her brother’s electoral defeat.

In Rajanna Sircilla district, voters of Chintalatana gram panchayat in Vemulawada Urban mandal elected Cherla Murali (50) as sarpanch, even though he had died of a heart attack on December 4, just days before polling. As five other candidates were still in the race, election officials proceeded with the poll in accordance with rules.

Murali, who had earlier served as a ward member, received overwhelming support from villagers, who voted in large numbers in his favour. He won the election by a margin of 358 votes over his nearest rival.

With the elected sarpanch no longer alive, authorities have put further proceedings on hold. Officials said a decision is awaited on whether a by-election will be conducted or the responsibilities will be assigned to the deputy sarpanch.

In a separate incident in Jagtial district, a 38-year-old woman died after suffering a cardiac arrest on learning that her younger brother had lost the sarpanch election. The woman, Koppula Mamatha, collapsed during the counting process in Gambhirpur village of Kathalapur mandal.

Her brother, Pothu Shekhar, lost the election by a margin of 187 votes. Mamatha, who had arrived from Korutla five days earlier to actively campaign for him, reportedly fainted after hearing the result and died while being rushed to a hospital.