Village in Ytl elects 22-yr-old as sarpanch

Nagpur: Bothbodan, a village in Yavatmal district infamous for farmers’ suicides in the cotton belt of western Vidarbha, has elected 22-year-old Maruti Kamble as its sarpanch.
Kamble represents Gramvikas Parivartan Panel, which was launched by the villagers in order to keep the established leaders of the gram panchayat away from power this time. Out of the total nine seats, the panel has won three.
Kamble said they are not attached to any political party but will work for village development. “We formed this panel with an aim to keep party politics away from village. As the village head, I will try to work for people along with all other elected members,” said Kamble.
This time the post of sarpanch of this small village was reserved for Schedules Castes (SC) category. Bothbodan has only three SC families. Interestingly, one candidate from each of the family was in fray for the post of sarpanch.
“Other two contestants were already in village politics and they had party inclinations. So, villagers voted for this new boy. We have high hopes from him,” a resident Balu Chavan told TOI.
It won’t be easy for Maruti to fulfil his commitments. The other six elected members are established faces and multiple-time gram Panchayat members. Though Maruti is a native of Bothbodan, he frequently visits Yavatmal for education.
“Villagers formed this panel because the established politicians were reluctant to solve their problems. They persuaded me to contest polls. Now, they have elected me. I am prepared for the tough task ahead,” said Maruti. Villagers celebrated Maruti’s victory with fanfare on Tuesday.