The third season of Panchayat revolves around the escalating conflict between the residents of Phulera and the local MLA. The new season is now streaming on Prime Video.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot summary
The third season begins with a new secretary replacing Abhishek, who was transferred by MLA Chandrakishore Singh after the events of the previous season.
A disheartened Abhishek has left Phulera because of his transfer. Pradhan Brij and Vikas consider his transfer unfair and are determined not to let the new secretary join.
Although Prahlad is still mourning his son and has taken to drinking to cope with his loss, he too joins Brij and Vikas’ efforts by threatening the new secretary.
In a twist of events, the MLA is sentenced to prison for two years after being found guilty of murdering his neighbor’s dog. This leads to the DM canceling Abhishek’s transfer.
Abhishek, who was thinking of resigning from his government job to focus on his exam preparation, happily returns to Phulera for the girl he likes, Rinki.
As there is currently no MLA to provide funds, Brij cannot construct the road that he had promised the villagers.
Due to the poor condition of the road, Brij and Manju Devi also get into an accident, which is witnessed by a villager named Jagmohan.
Under a government scheme, Brij is to allot proper houses to people who live in shacks, and Jagmohan’s grandmother wants a bigger house for her family.
Jagmohan threatens to tell the villagers about the accident if Abhishek does not apply for a house in his grandmother’s name, even though Jagmohan already has a proper house of his own.
To prevent the issue of Brij not being able to keep his promise of constructing the road from arising so close to the panchayat elections, Abhishek concedes.
However, Abhishek and Jagmohan’s family have to make up several lies to get the house, especially with the eagle-eyed Bhushan watching them closely, waiting for a mistake he can use against them.
Prahlad makes Jagmohan’s grandmother see reason and give up her demand. In the process, he learns to deal with his own loss.
Once this issue is resolved, a new one arises. Bhushan brings it to the village’s attention that most of the houses were allotted to the residents of West Phulera.
Brij is accused of discriminating against the residents of East Phulera, as he received fewer votes from that area in the previous elections compared to the west side of the village.
With Brij losing support, Bhushan takes the opportunity to win the villagers’ favor by joining hands with the MLA, who has been granted bail and is set to be in power once again.
With the MLA’s support, Bhushan will prove to the villagers that he can get funds to construct the road that Brij never did and win in the upcoming elections. In return, the MLA will get his revenge on Brij’s faction.
While Brij is against the peace accord, Manju Devi agrees to Bhushan and Kranti Devi’s suggestion to make amends with the MLA because Brij is already in trouble for discriminating among the villagers.
Bhushan and Kranti Devi act as mediators between the villagers and the MLA, who openly favors Bhushan and Kranti Devi over Brij and Manju Devi.
Toward the end of the event, the MLA accidentally kills a pigeon, resulting in the pigeon’s owner, Bam Bahadur, calling the MLA a murderer.
When the MLA’s right-hand man threatens him, Brij’s faction stands by his side, and just like that, Bhushan and Kranti Devi’s efforts to gain the villagers’ favor are wasted.
On top of that, with Brij’s support, Bam Bahadur gives an interview to a news channel, revealing how the MLA, who was found guilty of killing a dog and is rumored to have eaten the said dog, killed his pigeon as well.
Aware that the interview will turn Bam Bahadur into the MLA’s enemy, Brij’s faction decides to stay close to him to protect him.
Bam Bahadur happens to be from East Phulera, which enables Brij to prove to the villagers that he does not discriminate.
The MLA’s reputation takes a hit because of the interview. Bhushan and Kranti Devi’s efforts to get Bam Bahadur to publicly apologize to the MLA by relaying his threats also backfire.
Bam Bahadur gives another interview to reveal how he is being threatened, and the whole village stands united behind him, with Brij and Manju Devi as their leaders.
As expected, the MLA decides to teach Bam Bahadur a lesson. He sends goons to hurt him, but Bam Bahadur manages to outrun them.
This incident leads to the villagers doubting Bhushan and Kranti Devi’s loyalties; their faction is now excluded from all the decisions made by the panchayat.
The villagers prepare to strike back at the MLA for trying to hurt one of them. They come up with a plan to humiliate him.
Meanwhile, Rinki makes the decision to pursue an MBA degree, with Abhishek fully supporting her. Although they both have feelings for each other, they have not yet started dating.
Ending explained:
Humiliating the MLA
The MLA, accused of killing animals, is forced to sell his beloved horse. The villagers decide to buy the horse to get back at him.
Prahlad provides the funds for the horse’s purchase from the government compensation he received after Rahul’s death.
The villagers know that the MLA would never sell his horse to anyone from Phulera. Fortunately, Raveena is visiting her parents with her husband, Ganesh.
Raveena and Ganesh agree to buy the horse on the villagers’ behalf. Ganesh’s willingness to help leads to him and Abhishek resolving their past differences.
Raveena and Ganesh successfully buy the MLA’s horse and bring it to Phulera. Bhushan, who was not kept in the loop, questions the MLA about it when he sees the horse in the village.
The MLA finds out that Raveena and Ganesh were sent by the residents of Phulera and that his horse is now with his mortal enemies, which enrages him.
The MLA decides to attack the village. He travels to Phulera with his goons, prepared to spill blood.
Phulera versus the MLA
Realizing that the situation has escalated beyond control, Bhushan and Kranti Devi’s faction intercept the MLA before he enters the village.
They plead with him not to attack the villagers, and the MLA agrees to listen to them if they manage to bring his horse back to him within the next two hours.
However, the villagers refuse to comply with the MLA’s demands and decide to fight him head-on. They arm themselves to face the MLA and his goons.
Bhushan and Kranti Devi, after being held accountable for not supporting Bam Bahadur, aim to stop the fight by pointlessly protesting against the decision to fight.
The DM hears about the fight and sends her aid with a local police officer to talk to the two sides, but the MLA is not willing to listen to anyone.
The villagers also refuse to back down, and it seems impossible to stop the two sides from shooting at each other until the DM makes the MLA speak to an MP.
The MP advises the MLA to act wisely and treat politics like a game of chess. Finally, the MLA swallows his anger and leaves Phulera without causing harm to anyone.
The attack on Brij
A few days later, Abhishek prepares to leave to take his exam for admission into IIM for the second time. Brij, Vikas, and Prahlad come to see him off.
The four of them discuss their future. Khushbu and Vikas are expecting their first baby, so Vikas is preparing to be a father.
While Brij is going to focus on the upcoming panchayat elections, Prahlad opts not to contest because he is worried that people might think he is avoiding responsibility for his mistakes by using his son’s death as an excuse.
Prahlad still intends to support Brij and plans to give the remaining compensation amount he received to Vikas for his baby’s future.
Abhishek hopes to pass the exam, secure a job, and then get married. The bus arrives then, but before Abhishek can board, the four of them are attacked by two armed men.
Brij, Vikas, and Prahlad manage to get Abhishek on the bus. They are then chased by their assailants and caught, despite their best attempts to hide.
Vikas lies to Abhishek on the phone about their safety so that Abhishek can focus on his exam, but as soon as he hangs up, the assailants shoot Brij when he identifies himself as Pradhan Brij.
Brij survives the attack and is taken to the hospital. Abhishek hears about it and rushes straight to the hospital after his exam.
Believing that the MLA was behind the attack, Prahlad tells an angry Abhishek that they are going to retaliate later, but not at the moment.
However, the MLA himself visits Brij in the hospital and denies any involvement in the attack.
When Bhushan insults Brij, Abhishek slaps him, resulting in a fight between the MLA’s group and Brij’s group. Both parties are arrested and taken to the police station.
The DM announces on TV that anyone engaging in violence will be investigated due to the approaching elections. This marks the beginning of the panchayat elections and the end of the third season.
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