Rural Telangana’s political families retain power in villages through proxy candidates

Gram panchayat elections across villages in the erstwhile Medak district have seen a pattern of power shifting between family members, with husbands and wives swapping roles to bypass reservation norms and retain control, political observers noted.

Sangareddy: Families that have enjoyed political success at the village level are unwilling to let go of power, even when reservations prevent them from contesting elections directly. Leaders who would otherwise contest gram panchayat elections field their wives or other women members if the posts are reserved, ensuring continuity of control.

Across several villages in the erstwhile Medak district, there has been a clear change of guard between husbands and wives in gram panchayats, reinforcing this trend.

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In Cheek Maddur village of Hathnoora mandal, Srinivas Reddy served as sarpanch for two consecutive terms. With the post reserved for women this time, he fielded his wife Praveena, who won the election. With her victory, Reddy is set to continue exercising influence over village affairs until the next elections.

A similar pattern was seen in Govindarajula Pally of Hathnoora mandal. Bandameedi Sunitha was elected sarpanch in the previous term when the post was reserved for women. In the latest elections, with the post falling under the general category, her husband Raju contested and won, allowing the family to retain its hold on the village.

In Hathnoora mandal alone, at least 10 villages witnessed a change of guard between husbands and wives. The trend was also evident in Papannapet mandal of Medak district, where wives succeeded their husbands in two panchayats. Kummari Jagannadham, who won the election in 2019, was succeeded by his wife Padma in the present polls. In Dakya Thanda, Guguloth Hiralal, elected in 2019, was succeeded by his wife Swapna in this election.

Such instances are not confined to these two mandals. Many villages across the erstwhile Medak district have similar stories to tell.

The pattern extends beyond spouses. In some panchayats, sons succeeded their fathers or mothers, while daughters-in-law took over from their parents-in-law. Political observers tracking gram panchayat election trends said village-level leaders were determined not to cede space to other families. Allowing rivals to contest even once could weaken their grip, as a new political centre might emerge.

A similar change of guard between husbands and wives was also witnessed in ward member elections at several places. Where reservations did not favour sitting sarpanches or their family members, they are likely to contest in the upcoming MPTC elections to remain active in local politics for the next five years.