CANACONA
Following her defeat at the Khola ZP polls, BJP-backed panch Tejal Pagui got elected unopposed as the fifth sarpanch of Khola panchayat during the present tenure.
The post had fallen vacant after Pradnya Kamat had resigned on completion of her agreed tenure as per an oral agreement among the eight-member ruling group in the nine-member panchayat.
Dy Sarpanch Priyanka Velip, panchas Pandhari Prabhudesai, Krishna Velip, Ajay Pagui and outgoing sarpanch Pradnya Kamat were present for the election process.
Former deputy chief minister and Kala Academy chairman Chandrakant (Babu) Kavlekar, along with BJP Quepem Block President Krupesh Velip, later met and greeted the newly elected Sarpanch Tejal Pagui.
Tejal became the second member of the Pagui family to serve as sarpanch after her panch husband, Ajay Pagui, got elected as sarpanch shortly after the last panchayat elections. After Ajay Pagui, the others to serve as sarpanch were Krishna Velip, Priyanka Velip and Pradnya Kamat.
According to Kavlekar, though the sarpanch and dy sarpanch posts are rotated within the ruling group, developments are planned and taken up in the village with the blessings of the State BJP government.
“With the panchayat fully in support of the BJP party, all panch members are working together to bring all-around development in the village areas,” said Kavlekar.
It may be recalled that the BJP had fielded Tejal Pagui as its candidate for the recent Zilla Panchayat elections for the Khola ZP seat consisting of VP Khola, Betul-Naqueri, Agonda and Shristhal, but lost to Congress nominee Sumitra Pagi by a narrow margin in the ZP polls.
