Why Was Pradhan Ji Shot In ‘Panchayat’ Season 3? Murder Conspiracy, Explained

Despite the warm response TVF’s Panchayat has received from the audience for its genuine attempt at capturing the simplicity of Indian rustic life, one of the minor drawbacks mentioned by a section of the audience was the omission of hard-hitting social issues that are prevalent in rural India. The decision might have made sense in the first two seasons in order to suit the tone of the narrative, but as the storyline has started getting more and more political, the necessity of adding elements that allude to real life events has become apparent. 

The assassination attempt on Pradhan ji is one such dark turn to reality taken by the third season of Panchayat, which has quite certainly become a highlight of the season and has suddenly raised the stakes much higher. Needless to say, this will affect the village of Phulera and the future of all the involved characters in a big way, and we will try to share our views regarding that while discussing the causality of the incident.

Spoilers Ahead

Why Did the Rift Between the MLA and the Phulera Panchayat Escalate?

The conflict between Pradhan Ji, his panchayat members, and the dastardly MLA Chandra Kishor has been brewing since the events of the second season, which eventually took a hold on the entire village of Phulera in the third season. In the final moments of the second season, Chandra Kishor vowed to take revenge on Panchayat Secretary Abhishek and kept his word by transferring him out of Phulera. However, the MLA’s position suffered a blow after he was convicted in a case of animal cruelty, and it significantly affected his reputation in his own constituency—to such an extent that his decision to transfer was overturned by the higher authority, and Abhishek rejoined his role as Panchayat Sachiv in Phulera. 

Like the majority of politicians, Chandra Kishor is a petty, uninformed, and insecure man who has obtained a position of power by force, and as a result, his inflated ego perceives the most trivial issues as an attack on himself. He knows full well that he is unworthy of the position he commands, which is why people like him need to use fear tactics to wrest control of the opposition. For him to accept the fact that panchayat members of a small village like Phulera can challenge his reputation as a fearsome political leader is totally unthinkable. Especially in the context of rural Indian background, where definitions of pride, morals, and family values are much more pronounced, the ego of a politician can make a mountain out of molehill, which is what happens in the third season of Panchayat.

Chandra Kishor finds an unlikely ally in Phulera itself, as Bhushan and his gang of gullible followers, who seek to gain political advantage and take the office of the Phulera panchayat for themselves, decide to join hands with the MLA. In the guise of raising social issues for the village that need to be addressed, Bhushan and his team try to sow the seed of discrimination among the villagers, pave the way for the MLA to regain his hold on the village, and somewhat succeed in putting Pradhan Ji and his panchayat office on the back foot. With the by-election approaching soon, the possibility of Pradhan Ji losing his seat to Bhushan was quite real. However, once again, with another unforeseen jeopardy occurring during Chandra Kishor’s visit to Phulera, his reputation gets tarnished, and instead of acting wisely, he chooses to terrorize a poor man’s life to get even. This sets the stage for the final stage of the third season’s conflict, which by now has reached its boiling point. 

Why was Pradhan Ji targeted by the shooters?

Using the MLA’s foolishness for their own political leverage, Pradhan Ji and his panchayat members wisely strategized to defend the said poor man, Bam Bahadur, which further incited the MLA’s wrath. Chandra Kishor further fell into a trap of his own making, simply being unwilling to take the higher ground, and the existing bitterness between the two parties was further aggravated. However, the final dent in the MLA’s pride was made when Pradhan and co. bought his horse through trickery as this act by the villagers of Phulera, who exposed his vain superficial self to the world, having obtained his most beloved, prized possession, was nothing short of a crime from his perspective. It was a blow on a very personal level, and the MLA was not forgiving enough to let it pass. 

In his anger, Chandra Kishor nearly waged a war against the villagers of Phulera, and an inevitable bloodbath could have followed if not for a timely interference by a powerful MP who exercised his control over the MP. Villagers of Phulera rejoiced, considering the MLA’s retreat a moral victory, but little did they know that an even more heinous conspiracy was brewing in the background. Chandra Kishor employed Bhushan as his informant, and a gang of local shooters were tipped to take down Pradhan Ji. However, killing the panchayat chief would have caused way more ruckus, and the shooters were instructed to let Pradhan Ji live. This was more of a psychological attack on the villagers, a reminder by the MLA that he can wreak havoc in their lives by picking them apart one by one. When they were united, the villagers had the upper hand over the crooked politician, but the fact that they can be individually targeted by the people in power sends a loud and clear message about the existing power equation. With the attack on Pradhan Ji, the MLA has also incurred the wrath of the villagers, and it will be interesting to see how the situation gets handled in the upcoming season. As the police superintendent had rightly commented about the state of rural Indian politics, it is finally seeming like panchayat elections are about to occur with all their crazy nastiness, and this was the first indication of that.