Barnagar (Madhya Pradesh): Anwar Kaptan, an undertrial inmate lodged at Barnagar Maulana sub-jail in Ujjain district has emerged victorious as sarpanch from Jhalariya panchayat which falls under Barnagar tehsil here. Anwar defeated his nearest rival by 81 votes.
Sub-jail superintendent Mahendra Singh Raghuvanshi confirmed that Anwar was in jail since June 4, 2022, and he never moved out of sub-jail for campaigning. Even his nomination was submitted by one of his proposers because, before he could submit his nomination, police arrested him after a warrant was issued against him in one case.
According to information, there are a total of 1759 voters in two villages - Jhalaria and Khedamadhav, which fall under Jhalaria panchayat. In the first phase of polling held on Saturday, there was 90 per cent turnout. Out of a total of 1589 votes which were cast, Anwar got 655 votes, while his rival candidates Rafique and Naharu got 370 and 564 votes respectively.
Villagers informed that Anwar represented the village in the state-level kabaddi competition held in 2003 and has won the title and brought laurels to the village. Then after several unsuccessful attempts, he emerged victorious 7 years later.
As villagers were sympathetic towards Anwar for illuminating the name of the panchayat in Kabaddi, he won the first election. During his tenure, Anwar got many development works done in the village, which further increased the trust of the villagers.
Sikandar Khan, a villager, said that Anwar Kaptan did service for the village during the pandemic. Along with two Anganwadi buildings as part of development works, he got borewells constructed in view of the water shortage in the village and delivered water door-to-door.
Roads were built under Khet Sadak Yojana. On June 4, he went to jail in some cases, but since the villagers were sympathetic, Anwar's family members campaigned for him. When results were announced late Saturday night, it was Anwar who turned the tables.
(To receive our E-paper on whatsapp daily, please click here. To receive it on Telegram, please click here. We permit sharing of the paper's PDF on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.)
