CHITRADURGA: In the village of Kadabanakatte of Turuvanuru hobli in Chitradurga taluk and district, unity and brotherhood are the mainstay of the people’s welfare. Here, elections have not been held for the Gram Panchayat or cooperative bodies, and members are selected by the village heads, irrespective of caste, community and religion. MLAs T Raghumurthy, GH Thippareddy and former minister G H Ashwath Reddy have worked hard to keep the unity among the villagers, and this has effectively done away with elections since 1972.
Six members from Kadabanakatte and Kadabanakatte Myasarahatti were elected unopposed. Challakere MLA Raghumurthy, who is from Kadabanakatte, told TNIE that it was Ashwath Reddy who ensured that the brotherhood rules the village, and as far as possible, politics is kept out. “On the directions of Ashwath Reddy, my father T Thippaiah got elected as president of the Mandal Panchayat, and subsequently, the Gram Panchayat,” he said. “Since then, my father has been involved in electing members of the GP and cooperative societies, and I am continuing the tradition.”
Due importance is given to all sections — Kammas, Valmiki Nayakas, Adi Karnataka, Adi Dravida, Kumbara, Dhobi, Vishwakarma, Pinjara and other communities, he said. Flags of political parties are not hoisted to ensure that brotherhood prevails, he added. Suresh, a resident, said, ‘Our village Kadabanakatte is the best example of the Anubhava Mantapa concept of reformer Basaveshwara.