Panchayats Elect Sarpanches Unanimously in Erstwhile Adilabad
Tribal village elders drive consensus picks as unanimous polls drop this cycle sharply
Adilabad: As many as 59 gram panchayats have unanimously elected their sarpanches so far in the ongoing local body elections in the erstwhile Adilabad district.
Of these, 33 out of 473 gram panchayats in Adilabad district, 16 out of 400 in Nirmal district, five out of 306 in Mancherial and six out of 335 in Komaram Bheem Asifabad district have elected their sarpanches unanimously.
Most of these unanimous selections were facilitated by community leaders and village elders in tribal and agency areas, despite intense competition for the sarpanch post.
Meanwhile, major political parties are attempting to ensure that only one candidate from their party contests in each gram panchayat. However, the State government has not announced any official reward for panchayats that elect their sarpanches unanimously.
In the previous elections, the then BRS government had announced a Rs 10 lakh reward for such gram panchayats, though the funds were never released. Now, Congress leaders are encouraging villagers to opt for unanimous elections and choose sarpanches who can secure funds from ministers for the development of their gram panchayats.
However, the number of unanimous elections this time is significantly lower compared to the previous cycle. During the last sarpanch elections, 167 out of 467 gram panchayats in Adilabad district had unanimously elected their sarpanches.
