Panchayat poll: 2 Muktsar villages elect sarpanches unanimously

With the nomination process for panchayat elections beginning on Friday, two villages in Muktsar district unanimously elected their sarpanches.

Residents of Fakkarsar village here unanimously announced Manpreet Singh as sarpanch. Similarly, residents of Dhani Guru Ke Asal unanimously announced Nirmal Singh Sandhu as sarpanch and five others as panches.

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has announced a special grant of Rs 5 lakh to villages where panchayats are elected unanimously.

Rs 5 Lakh Special grant

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has announced a special grant of ~5 lakh to villages where panchayats are elected unanimously

Kaur Singh, ex-sarpanch of Fakkarsar village, said, “Our entire village has unanimously declared Manpreet Singh as our next sarpanch. We will now give written information to the Block Development and Panchayat Officer (BDPO).”

During the panchayat elections in 2018, as many as 38 sarpanches and 894 panches were elected unopposed in Muktsar district. The district — at that time — had 269 panchayats and 2,060 panches.

Meanwhile, the post of sarpanch of Badal village, the native village of the Badals, is this time reserved for an SC woman. Last time, Udayveer Singh Dhillon, a relative of former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, had lost the election of sarpanch to Congress-backed candidate Jabarjang Singh ‘Mukha’.

The post of sarpanch of Sarainaga village, native village of former CM Harcharan Singh Brar, is reserved for SC candidate this time. Last time, Karanbir Singh Brar, grandson of the former CM, was unanimously elected as sarpanch.

Surinder Singh Dhillon, Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development), Muktsar, said, “The nomination filing process for 269 panchayats in the district started today. If some villages are forming their panchayats unanimously, the residents must give it in writing to us.”

Meanwhile, Gurprit Singh Khokhar, a former sarpanch of Khokhar village, said, “During the last panchayat elections, I was the first unanimously elected sarpanch in the state. I was declared sarpanch 21 days before the nomination filing process. As a result, our village received additional funds for development works. However this time, the number of unanimously elected sarpanches is likely to decrease due to the presence of four major political parties.”