{
  "type": "article",
  "title": "Bhilwara Villagers Conduct Private Ballot Ahead Of Official Panchayat Polls, Pick Sarpanch Nominee While Funding Girls School",
  "summary": "Residents of Takhatpura village in Bhilwara held their own secret ballot at a local temple ahead of formal panchayat elections, raising 1.51 lakh rupees for a girls school while choosing a consensus candidate.",
  "content": "An unusual and cooperative electoral exercise unfolded in Takhatpura village, falling under the Kanyakhedi gram panchayat in Rajasthan's Bhilwara district, just ahead of the second phase of local Panchayati Raj polls. Faced with multiple competing claimants for the village head post, the community chose not to let political friction divide them. Instead, residents organized an internal secret ballot inside the local temple precinct, turning a potentially bitter contest into an organized fundraiser for the village educational infrastructure.\n\nReaching Deadlock and Creating an Educational Fundraiser\nUnder the reservation lottery system, the sarpanch seat in Kanyakhedi gram panchayat was earmarked for a Scheduled Caste woman candidate. The broader panchayat encompasses 2,700 registered electors, with Takhatpura holding a dominant share of 1,800 voters, while neighbouring Kanyakhedi village accounts for the remaining 900. Because Takhatpura commands the majority of the electorate, several households stepped forward seeking to field candidates, making an immediate consensus difficult during early community negotiations.\n\nTo navigate the stalemate, villagers convened a general meeting at the local Charbhuja temple compound to preserve communal amity. Rather than allowing personal disputes to fester, the gathering formulated a binding rule: any aspiring candidate had to formally commit and deposit a donation of 1.51 lakh rupees to serve as a community patron, with the entire fund specifically earmarked for building new classrooms at the local girls school. Following this mandatory condition, only two serious contenders remained willing to participate, while others withdrew from consideration.\n\nPrinted Ballots and a Twelve-Hour Secret Vote\nThe race narrowed down to two contestants: Manju Devi, wife of Bherulal Nayak, and Leela Devi, wife of Shankar Lal Baretha. Both households fulfilled the development pledge by depositing the required 1.51 lakh rupees with the village committee. To maintain full transparency and trust, formal ballot papers carrying the names and printed photographs of both women contestants were published, mirroring an official state electoral process.\n\nVoting commenced early on Wednesday at 6:00 AM and concluded at 6:00 PM, running continuously for twelve hours. Electors cast their votes using the village male electoral roll as the reference register. Throughout the day, 459 male voters turned up to drop their marked slips into an official-style ballot box. When the count took place later that evening before the gathered assembly, 18 ballots were found invalid and rejected. The tally revealed that the wife of Bherulal Nayak, hailing from a local farming family, secured the decisive margin and was formally proclaimed the village chosen sarpanch candidate.\n\nTwo Decades of Preserving Social Harmony Through Consensus Polls\nLocal residents explained that this internal voting system is not a temporary novelty, but an established local custom maintained across the past four panchayat elections, spanning roughly 20 years. Whenever public office races generate multiple rival camps, the community turns to this time-tested mechanism to eliminate electoral bitterness and protect neighborly goodwill.\n\nA defining hallmark of this twenty-year tradition is linking electoral ambition directly to civic welfare. Ahead of each cycle, community elders mandate that prospective entrants contribute financial resources toward public facilities such as the village cow shelter or local school building projects. Once the community ballot determines the winner, the village unites behind the chosen nominee, ensuring peaceful participation in the broader official state elections.\n\nWhat this means for you\nThis community-driven election process directly influences local civic welfare and village social cohesion.\n\n• Across India: The incident offers a constructive governance model for rural bodies across the country. It demonstrates how panchayat contests can channel political energy into funding local schools and shelters instead of fueling factional friction.\n• In Bhilwara: The local girls school in Takhatpura directly gains crucial infrastructure funding for classroom construction. Concurrently, the upcoming official polling phase in the region is likely to witness reduced village tensions and minimal partisan rivalry.\n• For Contenders: Aspiring leaders faced a structured eligibility benchmark tied to community development. This mechanism filtered out frivolous candidacies while ensuring public benefit from those seeking representative office.\n• For Electors: Village residents exercised a direct, private choice through pre-printed ballot papers. When the official state vote arrives, the majority of electors will already be aligned behind one collective choice.\n\nWhy this happened\nThe internal voting was triggered by a political stalemate among competing contenders and an established village convention designed to prevent rural friction.\n\n• Seat Reservation and Multiple Contenders: After the sarpanch post was reserved for a Scheduled Caste woman candidate, several households in Takhatpura fielded claimants. Direct negotiations failed to produce a single compromise choice, prompting community intervention.\n• Infrastructure Funding Condition: To break the deadlock, elders at the Charbhuja temple assembly made a 1.51 lakh rupee girls school donation mandatory. This financial commitment reduced the race to two final candidates.\n• Two Decades of Established Precedent: Takhatpura has followed this internal voting and community donation model for four consecutive panchayat terms over the past 20 years. That enduring practice provided the framework to organize ballots and maintain order.\n\nQuestions & Answers\n\n1. Which district and gram panchayat does Takhatpura belong to?\nTakhatpura is located in Bhilwara district of Rajasthan, under the Kanyakhedi gram panchayat.\n\n2. What is the total voter count in Kanyakhedi gram panchayat?\nThe panchayat has 2,700 registered voters, with 1,800 residing in Takhatpura and 900 in Kanyakhedi.\n\n3. What condition was set for aspiring sarpanch contenders?\nContenders were required to deposit 1.51 lakh rupees to fund classroom construction at the village girls school.\n\n4. Between which two candidates was the internal election contested?\nThe contest took place between Manju Devi, wife of Bherulal Nayak, and Leela Devi, wife of Shankar Lal Baretha.\n\n5. How many votes were cast during the internal poll and how many were rejected?\nA total of 459 male voters cast ballots, with 18 votes declared invalid and rejected during counting.\n\n6. How long has Takhatpura practiced this consensus electoral custom?\nVillagers have followed this consensus voting custom across the past four elections, spanning roughly 20 years.",
  "url": "https://trendkia.com/en/rajasthan/bhilwara-ke-takhatpura-men-sarakari-matadana-se-pahale-graminon-ne-khuda-parchiyon-se-chuna-sarpanch-pratyashi-balika-skula-ko-mil-47852",
  "category": "Rajasthan",
  "publishedAt": "2026-10-15",
  "tags": [
    "Bhilwara",
    "Takhatpura",
    "Panchayat Election",
    "Sarpanch Election",
    "Rajasthan Panchayat Polls",
    "Charbhuja Temple",
    "Kanyakhedi"
  ],
  "language": "en",
  "site": "TrendKia"
}