What’s on auction in Ballari now? Panchayat seats!

Ballari: Making a mockery of democracy, bidding for the Gram Panchayat seats is happening openly in many parts of  north Karnataka in the run to the GP elections.

Ruining the very spirit of ‘de-centralisation of power’, panchayat memberships’ have been put for sale for a price in the name of building a new temple, rejuvenating an old one, making wooded temple car, building a community hall for a particular caste or even purchasing land for a newly created Gram Panchayat office.

Mocking the GP election process, villagers are auctioning the GP membership for a price and anyone with deep pockets can get elected unopposed to the panchayat paying a price to the villagers.

Reports of bidding for GP membership are coming from Ballari, Koppal and Raichur districts where aspirants are promising a few lakhs to the villagers to get elected unopposed. The bidding price for seats reserved for general category seats is high compared to those reserved for scheduled caste and tribes.

In Junjalakoppa village of Chalageri gram panchayat in Kushtagi taluk of Koppal, villagers have fixed a price of Rs 3 lakh each for two seats and aspirants can bid for the seat quoting above the base price of Rs 3 lakh. According to villagers, the money will go for village temple rejuvenation.

In Habalakatti village, the newly created GP headquarters in Kushtagi, villagers have fixed the bidding price at Rs 1 lakh for a seat. They say  they will use the money for purchasing land for the new GP office.

For building a Valmiki Bhavan, villagers of Ganadalu gram panchayat have resolved to elect 9 members unopposed as each aspirant promised to donate money for Bhavan. “ A candidate requires to spend a minimum Rs 2 lakh and for that reason, we are asking them to donate the money for the Bhavan”, say villagers.