OLD GOA
Cumbarjua MLA Pandurang Madkaikar’s attempt to wrest control of the Se Old Goa panchayat went haywire after his rival Nilkanth Bhomkar was declared elected as sarpanch by a slender 5-4 margin, on Monday.
And even though Tiswadi BDO told the media that the result was declared null and void as there was some procedural lapse on part of the presiding officer (PO), the Director of Panchayats Sandhya Kamat gave a counter statement stating that the result stands and can be challenged only in the administrative tribunal.
It all started with the PO Sudesh Volvoikar handing a separate ballot paper (form 2) to one of the nine panchas instead of form 5. But, instead of immediately bringing it to the notice of the panchas present, Volvoikar opened the ballot box and counted the votes 5-4 in favour of Bhomkar.
“After counting the votes, I told the panchas present that one of the panch Tulsidas Kavlekar was handed form 2 instead of form 5, and that to correct the mistake he would handover form 5 to Kavlekar,” Volvoikar informed The Goan while stating that everybody agreed.
Kavlekar again cast his vote on form 5 and handed over the ballot paper to the PO who replaced it with the earlier form 2. But the count still stood at 5-4, and Bhomkar was declared elected as sarpanch and the order to this effect was pasted on the panchayat notice board.
But, later Power Minister Madkaikar made his presence felt at the panchayat and blamed the PO for the fiasco. “After realizing your mistake, you should have immediately conducted fresh election and should not have gone ahead in declaring the result,” Madkaikar thundered at the PO.
Realising that he was caught in a catch 22 situation, PO Volvoikar called up the BDO Manish Kedar who arrived in the panchayat after more than an hour. He went through the proceedings book while also listening to the say of the PO and secretary Babu Naik.
Later, BDO Kedar informed the media that the result of the election has been declared null and void by the PO, and that the Director of Panchayats would decide on the next date of election.
However, when Director of Panchayats Sandhya Kamat was contacted by The Goan, she stated that the result declared by the presiding officer stands.
“Initially, we thought that the result was kept in abeyance. But after going through the proceedings, we realized that it has already been declared. Now, it can be only challenged in the administrative tribunal,” Kamat said.
