Sarpanch candidates push big promises across Telangana villages
HYDERABAD: Campaign promises are rising across rural Telangana as sarpanch candidates offer household benefits, community works and social welfare commitments in the run up to village panchayat elections.
Insurance, cash aid dominate promises
In Kottapeta village of Keshampet mandal in Rangareddy district, Pasula Vanamma Narasimha Yadav promised to provide a ₹5 lakh life insurance policy for every household if elected sarpanch. The village has 700 houses. The annual premium per house is ₹1,200, adding up to ₹8.4 lakh a year, or about ₹42.5 lakh over five years.
He also released a manifesto with 15 assurances, including a ₹5,000 fixed deposit under the Bangaru Thalli scheme for every newborn girl, marriage assistance for boys and girls, monthly medical camps, ₹15,000 for surgeries, ₹21,000 financial support for house construction during slab work, and free books, bags and shoes for government school students.
Other commitments include aid for higher education, a village library, community meals during Shivaratri, Srirama Navami, Muharram, and an iftar dinner during Ramzan. He also announced CCTV installation across all streets, ₹10,000 support for funeral expenses and a Vaikuntha ratham for last rites.
Manifestos on bond paper and unanimous elections
In Salkapuram village of Gattu mandal in Gadwal district, Anjaneyulu filed his nomination along with a 22-point manifesto written on ₹100 bond paper. He said he would step down if the promises were not met. His plans include an ambulance for the village, free helmets for two wheeler riders, fencing for the BC cremation ground, a borewell with motor for drinking water, ₹10,000 for widows building houses, free cooking-gas cylinders, and laying of BT and CC roads.
Unanimous elections are increasing across districts. Ten panchayats in Nizamabad and five in Kamareddy have already elected sarpanches unopposed, including eight in Varni mandal. In Shivaroor Ram Reddipalli of Bibi Pet mandal, residents elected Dharani Lakshmi unanimously after she promised to complete internal roads and toilets.
Twenty-two villages in Adilabad, eight in Nirmal, six each in Khammam and Jangaon, five in Warangal, three in Mahabubabad, two in Mahabubnagar, and one each in Mulugu and Bhupalpally elected sarpanches without contest. In Chinna Shankarampet of Medak district, Mudiraj community members united to nominate Hema Durgapati, saying their community had not received an opportunity earlier.
Temples, pledges and community pressure
In Chinna Adisharlapalle of Kondamallepalli mandal in Nalgonda district, candidate Venkataiah promised to build a Bodrai statue and a Shiva temple at a cost of ₹51.3lakh. In Mulakalapalle of Gurrampode mandal, villagers rallied behind Boddu Lingaswamy after he offered to construct a Rama temple.
Voters demand solutions to animal attacks
Residents of Dandepalli in Mancherial district held placards on Monday demanding that candidates address recurring monkey and stray-dog attacks. Locals said groups of animals have been entering the village during mornings and evenings, injuring several people recently.
NRI returns to contest
In Lattupalle of Bijnapally mandal in Nagarkurnool district, Kamatam Nandini Srinivas Reddy returned from the United States to file her nomination after the village was moved to the general category and the three-children rule was removed. Her three children live in the US, where she had been staying for six years.
Heavy filing on second day
Nomination filing increased sharply on Monday, the second day for Phase-II elections. With Ekadashi and a favourable afternoon muhurtham, candidates queued up at centres. Officials estimated about 18,000 sarpanch nominations and 30,000 ward-member nominations on Monday. On the first day, 2,975 sarpanch and 3,608 ward-member nominations were filed.
Police have stepped up monitoring in villages going to polls in the first phase.
