Women have outnumbered men in being elected as sarpanches in the first phase of panchayat elections on January 21. This is expected to give a boost to women empowerment to an extent, since the show is usually run by a male family member.
For instance, in Sangareddy division, women were elected as sapanches in 132 out of the total 258 villages that went to polls. In Kandi and Sangareddy mandals too, more women were elected for the top post in the village — eight sarpanch posts were bagged by women in a total of 11 panchayats, more than the reservation provided by the government.
Coming to Siddipet district, as many as 96 women were elected as sarpanches as against 90 men in the first phase. In Medak district, women were elected as sarpanches in 83 out of the total 154 panchayats that went to polling while only 71 men were elected to the top post.
At several places, women were also elected as vice-sarpanches.
In Narsapur village of Narayanakhed mandal where the sarpanch posts were reserved for women, the villagers decided on an all-women team.
