Sehore (Madhya Pradesh): A man who lost the last Panchayat elections by 99 votes was elected new Sarpanch unopposed, sources said on Saturday. According to reports, the residents of Rola village in Sehore district elected Ravi Thakur as their Sarpanch on Friday. Thakur lost the election by a margin of 99 votes.
Besides the villagers, the present Sarpanch, Suresh Changri, supported Thakur’s candidature.
At a meeting, the candidate and the villagers decided that nobody from the village would file nominations for the upcoming civic elections.
The present Sarpanch Suresh Changri himself garlanded Ravi and declared the latter as new Sarpanch.
There are, however, reports that a few candidates are filling nominations and campaigning on social media. Such people have also launched a mass-contact programme.
Against this backdrop, the residents of Rola and Manpura elected their Sarpanch. The seat is reserved for an ST candidate.
The villagers held a meeting at a temple in Rola where the residents of Manpura also gathered.
Both former and present Sarpanchs and Thakur were present at the meeting. The villagers elected Thakur.
There are 1, 456 voters in the Rola village Panchayat. Former Sarpanch of the Panchayat, Ram Narayan Patidar, said that in the last civic elections, both Thakur and Changri fought against each other.
When Changri was talking about contesting the ensuing civic polls the villagers convinced him to withdraw his candidature.
The villagers told Changri that he had already been Sarpanch of the area but people were not happy with him, so Thakur should be given a chance. Changri agreed and declared Thakur as the new Sarpanch of the area.
Chief executive officer of the district Panchayat Harsh Singh said that he did not know anything about it.
Even if the villagers have elected the person as Sarpanch he has to file nominations, he said
Singh further said, “If any other person does not file papers he will be declared elected unopposed.”
