Lotteries drawn to reserve the sarpanch posts in some districts of Maharashtra have been cancelled and the process will be undertaken anew after voting for the gram panchayat elections next month, state minister Hasan Mushrif said.
An official statement issued on Wednesday said that all the district collectors have been instructed to undertake the lottery-related process after voting for the gram panchayat elections to be held on January 15.
However, it was found that the lotteries were already drawn, the statement said.
"Lotteries drawn to reserve sarpanch posts in some districts have been cancelled. The process will be undertaken afresh after the voting for the gram panchayat polls," the Rural Development Minister was quoted as saying in the statement.
He said the elections have to be held again if one's caste certificate is not verified in time or he/she submits a fake certificate after lotteries are drawn for the posts of sarpanch.
The already-drawn lotteries have been cancelled to keep a check on such "malpractices" and ensure justice for the "right" person, the minister said.
Elections to 14,234 gram panchayats spread across 34 of the total 36 districts in Maharashtra will be held on January 15.
The counting of votes will be held on January 18.
There are 27,920 gram panchayats in Maharashtra and elections to 14,234 of them means nearly 50 per cent of the village bodies would go to polls next month.
The publishers permit sharing of the paper's PDF on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.)