The rule for direction election of sarpanch was brought in by the previous BJP -led Devendra Fadnavis dispensation. (PTI)

Several thousand gram panchayats in Maharashtra have opposed the Uddhav Thackeray government’s decision to cancel direct elections for the post of sarpanch. The new rule states that those elected to the gram panchayat will elect a sarpanch (village headman) from among themselves. “As many as 9,000 gram panchayats have passed a resolution opposing the state government’s decision to allow members to elect a sarpanch from among themselves,” said Maharashtra State Sarpanch Parishad chairperson Dutta Kakade on Monday.

The rule for direction election of sarpanch was brought in by the previous BJP-led Devendra Fadnavis dispensation. The Fadnavis cabinet had, on July 3, 2017, decided to amend the respective clauses of Maharashtra Gram Panchayat Act of 1958 to facilitate election of sarpanchs (gram panchayat heads) directly from among the people of the village.

Incidentally, Thackeray, whose Sena was part of the ruling alliance at the time, had disapproved of this move. Thackeray had, in July, 2017, said that going by this logic (of direct election of sarpanch) a demand for election of state chief minister in a similar way can be raised by people.