Anagar village in Solapur district has never seen local body polls in the past 55 years. Since 1952, when the first gram panchayat was set up here, the village with a population of about 10,000 has not had a chance to elect its representatives through the ballot.

According to Anagar gram panchayat records, since 1952 a list of panchayat members was put up every five years without any opposition, and hence, there never arose the need for elections.

The villagers claim that the list of candidates always came from the Patil wada — the Patil family controls much in the village, including a sugar mill — and never was it challenged. The present scion of the family, Rajan Patil, is the MLA from Mohol taluka, which includes Anagar.

A staunch Patil supporter and village development officer S S Vasekar said, “In 1952, Baburaoji Patil, father of Rajan sahib, insisted that no elections be held as the process will divide the village. Since then, panchayat members have been elected unopposed.”

Patil’s opponents have a different take. “It is the terror regime unleashed by the Patils that has deprived Anagar its democratic right to elect people to the gram panchayat,” said Deepak Gaikwad, Shiv Sena zilla parishad member from Mohol taluka. “People want elections. But no one dares take on the Patils in the village. The Sena tried to break the stranglehold but no one was ready to contest against their men,” he said.

In 2005, a few men did try to challenge the Patils at the hustings, but were silenced by the MLA. "If one wants to live peacefully in this village, he should not utter a word against Patil," a villager said.

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