Why it is in the news
A special report in The Hindu (30 September 2026) documents a long-running practice in rural Maharashtra: in some villages, gram panchayat members are chosen “unopposed” (binvirodh) and no ballot is held, in some places for up to 70 years. The practice raises a constitutional question. When local elites manufacture consensus, does the 73rd Amendment's promise of elected, representative panchayats survive?
The exam angle
Issue: Is an unopposed panchayat an expression of village consensus or a quiet denial of the constitutional right to choose representatives?