IIT alumni Jitendra Kumar plays village council secretary Abhishek Tripathi in Prime Video’s Panchayat. We’re back in Phulera for the third time around, and the rural charm that made us fall in love with Panchayat is still intact. But it’s not quite a wholesome slice-of-life tale anymore. Just like last season, there’s a lot of scheming and politics in this one as well, but this time on a much bigger scale. That was bound to happen, as neither of the show’s two main antagonists, Bhusan and Vidhayak Chandrakishore, were tamed by the end of season 2. Naturally, this season is full-blown Team Pradhan ji versus Team Bhushan/Vidhayak, and it’s still very much fun to watch, as always.
Spoilers Ahead
What Happens in This Season?
Abhishek has been transferred (to a place called Bhaypura), and a new secretary (with the blessing of Vidhayak Chandrakishore, aka the main culprit behind our favorite Sachiv Ji’s transfer) is about to join. But we all know Panchayat can’t work without Abhishek Tripathi back in his office in Phulera. So Pradhan Ji, Vikas, and Prahlad Cha do exactly what needs to be done—not letting the new guy join. In their defense, the new guy doesn’t seem that impressive anyway. Manju Devi (yes, I’m aware she is the real “Pradhan,” but I’m calling her that, following the show’s lingo) is initially against what her husband is doing but eventually joins the mission. It doesn’t come easy, as the A-team has to travel quite a bit and visit the DM, who’s well aware of what’s going on and doesn’t want to get involved. What further helps is that the new guy is already scared of the menacing presence of our Prahlad Cha. Following his son’s death last season, Prahlad Cha is still grief-stricken, and the drinking has only increased, sadly. The final nail in the coffin for the new secretary arrives with the sudden arrest of the Vidhayak for allegedly killing (and eating!) a dog. By the end of the first episode, Abhishek is back in Phulera, and there’s someone who’s absolutely not happy with the turn of events—who else but Bhushan? Abhishek does mention that he doesn’t want any more drama between them, but with a nuisance like Bhushan, that can never happen.
Despite being away from Phulera for a while, Abhishek is very much updated with all the Phulera drama, thanks to Rinki. Yes, the Abhishek-Rinki romance is quietly brewing this season, and the best thing is that the show has made it very believable.
Getting a house by faking it
With Abhishek back, the show can now get on with the village issues. And the first one appears to be quite dicey: Jagmohan’s grandmother, Damyanti Devi, wants a house because her grandson and his wife have kicked her out. Except it’s a blatant lie, and they’re only doing it to get a house through the “PM Awas Yojana” scheme (yes, Panchayat stays very close to the real world). It doesn’t take much effort for Abhishek to figure out what these people are doing. But he has no choice but to play along, for the sake of Pradhan Ji and Manju Devi. Why is that? Because the power couple accidentally had an accident in front of Jagmohan’s house, thanks to the terrible road. And Jagmohan is going to spread the news of the accident, which would be both embarrassing and humiliating for Pradhan Ji and Manju Devi, especially because they failed to get the funds from Vidhayak Chandrakishore to have the road fixed (remember last season, right?).
So Abhishek plays along, but Jagmohan and his wife turn out to be terrible actors. They can’t even fake torturing their beloved Amma. Especially after Damayanti Devi suffers a health scare, the plan goes off the rails. It only proves Jagmohan, and his wife are genuinely good people. In fact, it’s the old woman who hatched the plan in the first place; this is obviously a welcome twist in the usual children using their old parents for personal benefits.
What does Bhushan want?
Let us first appreciate actor Durgesh Kumar for his phenomenal performance in the role. As far as what the character wants, it’s quite evident that all he (and his wife Kranti Devi) want is to pick fights with Team Pradhan Ji. Thanks to Pradhan Ji messing up with the “PM Awas Yojana” house allocation, by giving more houses to West Phulera (where he lives) and less to East Phulera (where Bhushan lives), Bhusan gets the perfect opportunity to launch an attack. Equal number of houses to each side, and this problem could have been avoided, but like a typical politician, Pradhan Ji thought about his vote bank, which is mostly west Phulera. Bhushan, along with his wife Kranti Devi, Madhav, and Vinod, don’t just stop with this one thing. They expectedly went the “enemy of the enemy is my friend” way and formed an alliance with the Vidhayak. The Vidhayak is obviously a vile man who would take any chance to take revenge against Team Pradhan Ji, so he agrees to aid Team Bhushan. A peaceful truce between the Vidhayak and Phulera is proposed, following which funds would be issued for the fixing of roads as well.
One dead pigeon ruins it all
On the “auspicious” day of peaceful truce, Pradhan Ji is in a sour mood, and so are Abhishek, Prahlad Cha, Vikas, and all the good guys. Manju Devi, being ever so pragmatic, still goes on to cook the Vidhayak’s favorite jackfruit. The Vidhayak arrives and tries to pretend as much as possible. He receives garlands from both Bhushan and Pradhan Ji, but he doesn’t forget to hail Bhushan as the savior of Phulera, as promised. He also politely refuses to eat at Pradhan Ji’s and goes to Bhushan’s. He gets elated to see the mutton curry, but with the dog murderer (and eater) allegation, poor Chandrakishore can’t eat it peacefully. Just when it seems like the peaceful truce is actually going to work out, the Vidhayak accidentally kills a pigeon while intending to release it as a token of peace. The pigeon owner, Bam Bahadur, gets miffed and alleges Chandrakishore is an animal hater. The situation soon turns utterly chaotic as the Phulera villagers rally against the Vidhayak.
Things further heat up when Bam Bahadur gives a fiery interview and the news of an alleged dog-eater Vidhayak killing a pigeon goes viral. Chandrakishore threatens Bam Bahadur (through Team Bhushan) and tries to convince him to accept a public apology, but Bam Bahadur decides to stand his ground. Even the Vidhayak sending random goons (remember the ones in Pakauli bazar who got beaten up by Abhishek in Season 1?) fails to yield anything good.
Does Pradhan Ji die?
This season of Panchayat was always heading towards a fiery conclusion with a major showdown between Team Pradhan Ji versus Team Vidhayak and Bhushan. Following Vidhayak’s attack on Bam Bahadur, the Phulera people (except Bhushan and co., of course) decide to teach him a lesson. And what’s better than buying his beloved horse, Sitara, and striking a blow against his pride by bringing the pet to Phulera? Unfortunately for the Vidhayak, he has to part ways with Sitara due to all the animal killer/eater allegations. But he wouldn’t sell the horse to anyone from Phulera, so what to do? Well, remember Ganesh, aka Raveena’s husband? (The Phulera son-in-law from season 1) You certainly didn’t imagine that guy would emerge as the savior, but Abhishek Tripathi certainly did. And this time around, Ganesh turns out to be genuinely helpful. Not only does he bravely go to Chandrakishore and buy the horse, but he’s also a great wingman to Abhishek and helps him get a little closer to Rinki. The guy is not too bad, after all!
With his horse practically stolen by the Phulera villagers, the Vidhayak goes completely berserk and goes to Phulera with his henchmen. Other than Team Bhushan, nobody in Phulera seems to be in the mood for giving back the horse. Instead, Team Pradhan Ji, other council members, and the villagers pull out their rifles and get ready for an imminent fight. It doesn’t happen, though, thanks to the intervention of local police and the DM office. The Vidhayak backs out, and Team Pradhan Ji goes home with the win.
But with someone like Bhushan around, how can anyone live in peace? On the day Abhishek is just about to hop on the bus heading to the all important CAT-exam center, Abhishek and co are attacked by the Vidhayak’s goons. Fortunately, he does manage to catch the bus and get away. But the goons catch up to Pradhan Ji, Vikas and Prahlad Cha. Pradhan Ji gets shot and ends up in the hospital. Fortunately, Pradhan Ji is not dead yet.
When Abhishek returns the next day, he’s absolutely livid with how things have turned out. Bhushan getting slapped real hard by Abhishek has to be the most satisfactory moment of the season, and so is the Vidhayak getting beaten up by Abhishek. What’s Panchayat without our favorite Sachiv Ji teaching lessons, to whoever needs one?
Will There Be A Fourth Season?
You and I both know it’s bound to happen, especially with how things have ended with Team Pradhan Ji and Team Vidhayak – both in the police station after a serious fight. It will be interesting to see what direction the Abhishek-Rinki romance ultimately takes. Vikas becoming a parent will also add a layer to the story. And hopefully, our Prahlad Cha will be a little less sad. Last, but not least, I do want to find out what exactly the Vidhayak did to end up in jail – he might be a lot of things, but doesn’t seem like someone who would harm animals especially given how sad he was while letting the horse go. With the Panchayat election round the corner, we’re certainly going to get a fiery fourth (and maybe the final) season, hopefully by 2026.
