<span style="color: #222222;">Several thousand Gram panchayats in Maharashtra have opposed the Uddhav Thackeray government's decision to cancel direct elections for the post of Sarpanch. According to the new rule,  the elected Gram Panchayat members will elect a Sarpanch (village headman) from among themselves.<br />''<br />''Maharashtra State Sarpanch Parishad chairperson Dutta Kakade yesterday said that about 9,000 Gram panchayats have passed a resolution opposing the state government's decision. The rule for direct election of sarpanch was brought in by the previous BJP-led Devendra Fadnavis government.<br />''Incidentally, Thackeray, whose Sena was part of the ruling alliance at the time, had disapproved of this move.</span><br />