Jaipur, Oct 13 (IANS): In a unique gesture, residents of a village in Rajasthan's Jodhpur district collected Rs 21 lakh to present to a candidate who had lost the election for the sarpanch's post by a narrow margin.

This incident was reported from Nanan village panchayat in Jodhpur's Pipad tehsil.

Mukund Dewasi had lost the recently-held sarpanch election to his rival Sundari Devi by just 84 votes. Though he was put out by the result, he wanted to do something for villagers and hence, organised a vote of thanks to express his gratitude. He also hosted lunch in the programme, which seemed like a wedding ceremony with a band in attendance.

Some villagers were so touched, that they collected a whopping Rs 21 lakh, with Rs 5.51 lakh of it contributed by Dewasi's friend Shyam Chaudhary, while outgoing sarpanch Bhanaram gave Rs 1.11 lakh.

Some senior residents of the village then presented the amount to Dewasi and his family, who were overwhelmed with the love and affection showered on them.