Chaos erupted at the Davorlim Panchayat on Wednesday after the much-awaited elections to elect a new Sarpanch and Deputy Sarpanch were abruptly cancelled by the Directorate of Panchayats, only for officials to restart the election process a few minutes later. The sudden reversal led to heated arguments and outrage among a group of panch members and lo cal citizens, plunging the panchayat into confusion. According to sources, the election proceedings had already begun when BDO Adarsh Dessai announced the cancellation, citing a last-minute circular issued following the demise of Agriculture Minister Ravi Naik. “We had started the process, but later received the circular and stopped. However, after receiving fresh directions from high er officials that we could proceed, the cancellation report had already been completed,” Dessai ex plained. He added that he has forwarded the report to higher authorities and that a new date will soon be announced to conduct the elections. The sequence of abrupt cancellations and restarts infuriated several elected members. Panch member Menino Colaco expressed deep frustration over the mishandling of the process. “We had already gone home after being informed that the elections were can celled. Minutes later, we were shocked to hear that the presiding officer had again shown willingness to continue the election pro cess. It was complete mis management,” Colaco said. The confusion triggered heated scenes inside the panchayat office, as mem bers clashed over whether the election should proceed or be deferred in view of the official circular. Local residents who had gathered to witness the event were left puzzled about the legit imacy of the proceedings. Adv. Pratima Coutinho, social activist and resident of Navelim, strongly con demned the developments, alleging political interfer ence by the ruling party. “The BJP is playing dirty politics even at the level of local self-governance. The election was stopped with out any valid reason, and only after persistent oppo sition and intervention by our members was the deci sion to postpone it accept ed,” she said. Coutinho also accused local MLA Ulhas Tuenkar of interfering in panchayat affairs. By late evening, the pre siding officer confirmed that his report on the can cellation has been submit ted and that the Directorate will soon announce a fresh date for the election of the Sarpanch and Deputy Sar panch. The Davorlim Panchayat, which has been under in terim leadership since the previous Sarpanch’s resig nation, will continue to function in caretaker mode until the new leadership is formally elected.
Chaos at Davorlim Panchayat as Sarpanch Election Cancelled and Restarted Within Minutes
