Maharashtra Village Auctions Sarpanch Post; Winner Bids Rs 2.05 Cr

In a bizarre experiment, Umrane villlage of Maharastra's Nashik district elected its sarpanch through an auction process. While the base price for the bid was kept at Rs 1.11 crore, a local, Vishwasrao Devare, won it by quoting Rs 2.05 crore against some development works. However, activist Jaydeo Dole criticised the method and said "Our elected representatives should be elected, not auctioned". Interestingly, the decision came ahead of the Panchayat elections due on January 15.