Maharashtra-Telangana voters get the best of both worlds

On Friday, voters in the 12 villages that border Maharashtra and Telangana supported the candidates running for the Chandrapur Lok Sabha seat in the neighboring state. Once again, these people will use their right to vote to choose the candidates running for Telangana’s Adilabad Lok Sabha seat.

Since elections in Independent India, these 3,350 voters have been granted dual rights since the four gram panchayats—Parandholi, Athapur, Mukadhamguda, and Bollapatar—are claimed by both Maharashtra and Telangana, which was once an undivided Andhra Pradesh. The general practitioners are identified as belonging to the Jivithi taluka of the Chandrapur district in Maharashtra and the Kerameri mandal in the Kumurambheem Asifabad district in Telangana.

For the 3,350 voters, four voting places had been set up in each of the 12 villages by the Chandrapur district government.

These voters have also cast ballots in Telangana’s 2023 Assembly elections. Interestingly, these villages get advantages from both states and have two sarpanches in addition to being represented by two MPs and two MLAs.