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Published Dec 04, 2025 | 4:09 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 04, 2025 | 4:09 PM
Money (Representational Image/Creative Commons)
As Telangana wades deeper into its multi-phase gram panchayat elections, villages across the State seem to have discovered a groundbreaking new democratic innovation: the “Pay n’ Win” model of governance.
Why bother with the messiness of campaigning, canvassing or—heaven forbid—actual voting, when you can simply settle leadership matters in a quiet room over tea, snacks and a few lakh rupees.
Across Nalgonda, Jogulamba-Gadwal, Khammam and parts of Karimnagar, reports suggest that sarpanch posts—meant to embody grassroots democracy—are increasingly being decided by the ancient art of settlement, also known in polite circles as “unanimous election.”
In less polite circles, villagers are calling it what it feels like: a straight-up auction.
Under the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act, a village is free to select its sarpanch unanimously—an honourable provision meant to foster harmony. But this year, that noble intention appears to have morphed into a convenient loophole large enough for a caravan of camels to walk through. If only one candidate files nomination, voilà! A unanimous sarpanch is born. And if that requires nudging—financial, emotional, spiritual or otherwise—well, who’s keeping track?
Take one village in Nalgonda, where a woman reportedly secured the coveted post by parting with a modest sum of ₹73 lakh. In other villages, bids floated between ₹20 lakh and ₹60 lakh—amounts that would make even big-city home buyers gasp. And in revenue-rich panchayats blessed with sand reaches or rising real-estate prospects, the asking rate is rumoured to hit the ₹1 crore mark.
Democracy, after all, comes at a price, with GST strings attached.
In the first phase alone, over 150 candidates were elected unopposed. How many of these were true, heartfelt community decisions and how many were “budget-approved” victories?
As villagers wryly put it, “Only God and the person counting the cash know.”
Where outright auctions are considered too bold, inducements are softly rolled out like festival offers—life insurance for every household, cash gifts for newborn girls, etc.
The reason behind this frenzy is simple: the sarpanch post today packs serious political and financial muscle. Control over development funds, influence on contract allocation, access to government schemes and a say in local resources such as sand can turn a village leader into a mini-CEO. For many aspirants, the hefty “investment” is seen as recoverable—often with handsome rural dividends.
Meanwhile, the State Election Commission has issued polite advisories against forced unanimity and inducements, but no special inquiry has begun. Officials privately admit the rumours of widespread auctions are “in the air,” though apparently the evidence has not yet landed on their desks. Until then, Telangana’s grassroots democracy continues its unique evolution—where unanimity is less about community consensus and more about who brings the highest bid.
