2 weeks after auction of seats, Pune village gets a panchayat

The new gram panchayat of Jambut village in Shirur near Pune — elected by auctioning seven out of nine seats on June 8 to collect funds...

The new gram panchayat of Jambut village in Shirur near Pune — elected by auctioning seven out of nine seats on June 8 to collect funds for a local temple—came to power today. The voting was held on June 19.

According to reports, no vote was cast in Jambut as all other candidates — except those who “bought” their seats — had withdrawn their applications.

As reported by The Indian Express last week, the villagers had decided to auction the seats for the renovation of the Vittal temple.

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In the auction held on June 8, the sarpanch’s post went to Mhaske, for Rs 3.6 lakh, while the deputy sarpanch’s seat went to Jagtap for Rs 1.1 lakh. Each member’s seat went for Rs 11,000.

The villagers say this money would have been spent on campaigning. Besides generating funds for the temple, this agreement away with factionalism within the panchayat, they say. Since almost all members on the committee have been chosen by sarpanch-elect Mhaske, there will be consensus on key issues, too. The sarpanch’s election has been scheduled after July 20.

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