Unanimous Panchayat Chiefs Make A Beeline To TRS

Ranga Reddy: Sarpanchs who have been elected unanimously are joining the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS). The party after a victory in the assembly polls is eyeing the panchayat polls. The leadership is keen on winning the panchayat polls for the gains it will fetch them in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The MLAs of TRS are leaving no stone unturned to get the newly elected Sarpanchs into the party. In the first phase, 20 Sarpanchs have won unanimously of whom 18 were supported by the TRS. Some of them joined the party recently.

Of the total 179 Gram Panchayats, 14 won unanimously in both Sarpanch and ward member positions. All these gram panchayats are now eligible for grants of Rs 5 lakhs if the population less than 5000 and Rs 10,00,000 if it exceeds 5000. In another 6 panchayats, the position of Sarpanch was unanimous but not in the wards making them ineligible for the grant.

Elections are going to be held on 21 January in 159 panchayats of 179 as 20 of them have been unanimous.  A total of 236 wards have been unanimous of the total 1,580 wards. Elections are going to be held in other 1,341 wards and the number of candidates contesting is going up to 3,292.

Second phase: The second phase of elections are scheduled for 25 January in 181 panchayats, and the total candidatures approved for sarpanches are 947 and 4,988 for the wards. All the parties are sweating it out to win the panchayat elections.

Also Read: TRS Leaders Lobby For Ministerial Berths In Telangana Cabinet/