Beed, March 22 As preparations are underway in Maharashtra's Beed district for the upcoming gram panchayat elections, the focus will be on Massajog village, where a by-election will be held after the sensational murder of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh.
The by-election in Massajog, in Kaij tehsil, is part of a larger exercise across the district. Voting will be held on April 28 for 88 seats, including 22 sarpanch positions, across 48 gram panchayats, with counting scheduled for April 29.
Deshmukh was abducted and murdered on December 9, 2024. It was alleged that he was killed for opposing, three days earlier, an attempt to extort money from a wind energy firm operating in the area, triggering a massive outrage.
Subsequently, Walmik Karad, a close aide of the then Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Dhananjay Munde, was named as the mastermind in the murder. Amid mounting Opposition pressure, Munde resigned from the BJP-led Mahayuti government.
Locals said it remains to be seen whether Massajog, with a population of about 2,000, will elect its new sarpanch unopposed as a mark of respect to the slain village head. His widow or another family member may be fielded for the post, they said.
Santosh’s brother Dhananjay Deshmukh is currently active in the village.
“The district is now watching to see if the village will unite to pay tribute to the late leader by electing a successor unopposed, or if an opposition candidate will emerge to challenge the Deshmukh family’s legacy,” said a local resident.
Meanwhile, the legal proceedings following the murder continue to make headlines.
Prime accused Karad remains in jail in Beed after a court recently rejected his bail application. Of the other arrested accused, Sudarshan Ghule, Pratik Ghule, Jairam Chate, Sudhir Sangale and Mahesh Kedar are in Beed, while Vishnu Chate is in a jail in Latur district.
One accused, Krushna Andhale, is still absconding.