Two villages boycott elections

All the 319 voters of Shirkoli village in Velhe taluka boycotted the ZP and panchayat samiti polls on Tuesday. The village had earlier expressed discontent over the issue of a rehabilitation package. District collector Vikas Deshmukh said there were meetings with villagers and irrigation officials regarding the issue. The village,which has a habitation of 1,000 had put up their grievances and threatened to boycott poll. “Our job is to convince them. We cannot force them,’’ said Deshmukh. He said the issue pertained to shifting of a village temple as well as acquisition issues. A similar case was witnessed at Maudi village in Purandar taluka of the district where 1,930 voters boycotted polls in the wake of acquisition of irrigated land for industrial purposes. Deshmukh said they have had several talks regarding the issue. “There are stages in land acquisition and it cannot be done instantly. We have had our round of talks with the MIDC. However,the village decided not to vote,’’ said Deshmukh.