SANGUEM
After two previous attempts to elect a sarpanch were unsuccessful, Archana Gaonkar was unanimously elected as sarpanch of Netravali.
The post had fallen vacant following the ouster of former sarpanch Rajani Gaonkar and since Gaonkar was the only one to file a nomination, she was declared elected unopposed as sarpanch of Netravali.
This is the third time that an election has been conducted to the sarpanch’s post after election officials failed to receive nominations on the previous two occasions. The sarpanch’s post at Netravali panchayat has been reserved for women.
The matter had reached the High Court after former sarpanch Rajani Gaonkar along with Deputy Sarpanch Abhijit Dessai had a long legal battle after the Director of Panchayats had disqualified them as sarpanch and deputy sarpanch, respectively.
The order was subsequently reversed by the District Court and the High Court later set aside the order passed by the Director of Panchayats.
Incidentally, though Rajani Gaonkar finally won the court battle, she was soon ousted from the post after she changed political affiliations.
At a special meeting on Tuesday, all panchayat members, Abhijit Dessai, Santosh Naik, Prakash Bhagat, Vithal Gaonkar, Antonia Costa, Rajani Gaonkar and Archana Gaonkar were present.
