FGG Flags Democracy-Auction In Panchayat Polls

The Forum for Good Governance (FGG) today raised serious concerns over the ongoing gram panchayat elections in Telangana, and alleged that several "unanimous" results were being engineered through the auctioning of posts, coercion, inducements and forced withdrawals.

Addressing a press conference at the Somajiguda Press Club, FGG president M Padmanabha Reddy said that although the panchayat elections were meant to be non-party based, they were effectively being fought along party lines.

While welcoming the State Election Commission's Circular 1077, he said that it fell short in curbing unconstitutional "unanimous" elections.

He placed two key demands before the Commission:
- Count the votes for and announce the results of all three polling phases together on December 17, 2025, to prevent phase-wise influence
- Keep all unopposed wins in abeyance for a week, order inquiries by senior officers, and cancel elections in case of irregularities

Former IAS officer R V Chandravadan said that political influence had turned Sarpanch elections partisan. He also said that unanimous results must reflect genuine public will.

Another former IAS officer Dr M V Reddy said that auctioning Sarpanch posts was a dangerous blow to democracy, as it excluded the poor from contesting.

Forum speakers, including T Vivek and secretary Soma Srinivas Reddy, urged the educated youth to enter local body politics, and said that those who "bought" posts often failed to serve the public interest.