Amidst the desolate hilly terrain between Jivti taluk of Chandrapur district in Maharashtra and Kerameri mandal in Kumuram Bheem Asifabad district in Telangana, are 14 villages in the Parandoli and Anthapur gram panchayats. Here, 3,023 residents, of a population of about 5,000, enjoy the power of voting in both Maharashtra and Telangana.
Both gram panchayats are dependent on the Maharashtra and Telangana governments and the residents participate in almost all elections on both sides, says Laxman Kamble, the first sarpanch of Parandoli, elected in 1995.