Setback for Uddhav? 9,000 villages slam pitch to scrap Fadnavis-era direct election model

The Maha Vikas Aghadi government’s proposal to scrap the direct election for the Sarpanch’s post has drawn flak from more than 9,000 Gram Panchayats. They have commended the model introduced by the previous Devendra Fadnavis government. However, it remains to be seen whether the Maharashtra government would heed the counsel of the villages or go ahead with its proposal. This comes at a juncture when the Maha Vikas Aghadi is mulling reverting to the ward system in civic bodies.  

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The Maha Vikas Aghadi's angst with the direct election model

Originally, the system of direct election for the Sarpanch’s post was introduced in 2006 during the Congress-NCP regime. However, this led to a situation where the Sarpanch was from one party and the elected members belonged to a different party altogether. As development suffered in the process due to a clash of interests, the direct election system was scrapped.  

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The situation changed dramatically after the BJP government came to power in 2014. First, it revived the system of direct elections to the post of president in Municipal Councils. This was followed by the decision to allow the Sarpanch to be directly elected. Subsequently, there was growing unease in the NCP and Congress as they were slowly losing power in the Gram Panchayats to BJP.  

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Overturning major policy decisions

Since assuming office, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has sought to overturn major policy decisions of the Fadnavis regime. For instance, he immediately halted the construction of the Mumbai Metro 3 car shed in the Aarey area. Recently, Ashwini Bhide- the bureaucrat heading this project was transferred. Moreover, funding to Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan has also been stopped. Additionally, multiple ministers of the Maharashtra government hinted at reviewing the cases filed against the arrested activists in the Elgar Parishad case. But this attempt was shortlived as the Centre transferred the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad cases to the NIA. 

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