Satyesha fought the election for the post of village Sarpanch, which was reserved for women of Scheduled Caste (SC) communities. (Source: SFI - Students' Federation of India/Facebook)As the counting of votes was conducted for the elections of around 3,894 gram panchayats in Gujarat on Wednesday, 25-year-old Satyesha Leuva was elected Sarpanch of Vadvasa village of Prantij taluka in Sabarkantha district. Even as the gram panchayat elections are not fought on party symbols, Satyesha said she follows the communist ideology and is an office bearer of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in Gujarat.Satyesha fought the election for the post of village Sarpanch, which was reserved for women of Scheduled Caste (SC) communities. Satyesha registered a total of 596 votes while defeating her two opponents, Savita and Pushpa, who got 492 and 236 votes, respectively.The village has a population of around 3,000 residents. The population is dominated by OBC communities followed by Patidars and SCs. Vadvasa has a total of 1,875 voting individuals. Out of them, 1,415 people cast their vote.A science graduate, Satyesha is a lawyer by profession and does her legal practice in Ahmedabad.Speaking with The Indian Express, she said that she is an active member of CPI (M) and is a secretariat member of the party in Sabarkantha. She is also a permanent invitee to the party’s state committee. She is also the state secretary of Students’ Federation of India, the party’s student wing, in Gujarat.On her priorities for her village, Satyesha said that the village roads and street lights are an issue for Vadvasa, which she would like to address as an immediate priority. She also wants to work on proper disposal of garbage in the village and for those people whose housing units have been sanctioned, but not given so far.In the long run, she wants to have a health centre, a library and a gymnasium in the village.Story continues below this ad“Our village is around 1-1.5 km away from the national highway. The frequency of buses to reach the highway is less. So, I want to have 3-4 electric rickshaws, which can ferry people from the village to the highway,” Satyesha said.According to Satyesha, she has been doing activism on a number of public issues.She has helped a number of parents, who could not pay school fees of their children for some reason, in getting the fees waived. In the past, she protested in Himmatnagar against the Hathras incident of the murder of a Dalit girl. Besides, she has protested against the National Education Policy. She also protested with reference to demolition near Chartoda Kabrastan in Gomtipur area of Ahmedabad.According to Satyesha, Vadvasa village was awaiting election since 2020 owing to the pending issue of fixing of OBC reservation in local bodies by a judicial commission. Since 2020, the village affairs were being handled by an administrator.Story continues below this adResponding to Satyesha’s election as Sarpanch, State Secretary of CPI (M) in Gujarat Hitendra Bhatt said, “Our party is working for people. Ours is not an election oriented party. But in parliamentary democracy one has to go for elections if one wants to work for good. I am very happy with Satyesha’s election. She is very active and I am sure that she will be successful Sarpanch.”Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd