Tragedy marks Telangana Panchayat poll results

TELANGANA: Two emotional and tragic incidents took place during the first phase of the results of the gram panchayat elections in the northern Indian state of Telangana.

In one incident, villagers elected a deceased candidate as sarpanch, while in another incident, a woman died of a heart attack after hearing the news of her brother’s electoral defeat.

Voters in Chintaltana gram panchayat of Vemulavada urban mandal in Rajana Sirsila district elected 50-year-old Cherla Murali as sarpanch, even though he had died of a heart attack on December 4, a few days before the polling.

Since there were five more candidates in the fray, the election authorities continued the polling process as per the rules.

Cherla Murali, who had earlier served as a ward member, received strong support from the villagers and a large number of votes were cast in his favor. He defeated his nearest rival by a clear margin of 358 votes.

The upcoming proceedings have been put on hold due to the death of the elected Sarpanch. According to officials, it is being considered whether a by-election will be held or the responsibilities will be handed over to the Deputy Sarpanch.

In a separate incident, a 38-year-old woman in Gambhirapur village of Kathalapur mandal of Jagtial district suffered a heart attack after hearing the news of her younger brother’s defeat in the Sarpanch elections and could not be revived.

The woman has been identified as Koppola Mamtha, who collapsed during the counting of votes.

Her brother Puthu Shekhar was defeated by a margin of 187 votes. Mamtha had come from Kurutla five days ago to actively participate in her brother’s election campaign.

According to reports, she fainted after hearing the results and died on the way to the hospital.