The Karnataka State Election Commission (SEC) has announced that ballot papers will be used instead of electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the Bengaluru civic polls, and the elections will be held after May 25.
Karnataka State Election Commissioner G.S. Sangreshi made the announcement on Monday at a press conference after releasing the draft voters' list for elections in the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) limits.
"Civic polls to the five newly formed municipal corporations under the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) will be conducted after May 25 and ballot papers will be used for voting instead of the electronic voting machines (EVMs)," he said.
The upcoming elections to the GBA, district panchayats, taluk panchayats and gram panchayats will be conducted using ballot papers, he announced.
"As per the directions issued by the State Election Commission, the ward-wise draft electoral rolls for all 369 wards are published today for public inspection and the final notification will be published on March 16," Sangreshi said.
He further appealed to voters to verify whether their names appear in the draft voters' list released for the GBA elections.
"If a name is missing, applications can be submitted in the prescribed format for inclusion. All eligible citizens who have completed 18 years of age should ensure their names are included in the voters' list," he said.
Sangreshi said EVMs were used only for Assembly elections and there was no rule mandating their use for local body polls.
"There is nothing wrong with conducting elections using ballot papers. The upcoming GBA elections, as well as district and taluk panchayat elections, will also be held using ballot papers," he underlined.
He stated that the district and taluk panchayat elections were likely to be held in May or June.
"The delimitation report has to be submitted to us by the government. There is also a petition scheduled to be heard in court on January 30. We are planning to conduct the elections after that," he said.
Sangreshi added that gram panchayat elections would also be held using ballot papers.
"Many people have written to us suggesting that elections be conducted either through ballot papers or EVMs. However, we have found ballot papers to be more appropriate," he stressed.
R. Ramachandran, Special Commissioner of the GBA election division, said that the ward-wise draft voters' list of the five municipal corporations under the Greater Bengaluru Authority consists of a total of 88,91,411 voters.
He said that 369 wards have been formed under the GBA limits, covering five municipal corporations -- Bengaluru Central, Bengaluru North, Bengaluru South, Bengaluru East and Bengaluru West.
Ramachandran further said that as per the draft voters' list prepared with October 1, 2025 as the qualifying date, the total electorate includes 45,69,193 men, 43,20,583 women and 1,635 voters from other categories, taking the total to 88,91,411 voters.
He said booth-level officers (BLOs) would visit houses from January 20 to February 3 for verification. During this period, voters can submit claims and objections.
The disposal of claims and objections will be taken up thereafter, and the final voters' list will be published on March 16.
BJP slams K'taka govt
Union Minister for Food and Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi has strongly criticised the Karnataka Congress-led government for insisting on using ballot papers for local body elections, calling it a tragedy and a matter of shame.
He said Karnataka was a pioneer of the EVM revolution, but the Congress-led state government is now acting as an obstacle to progress.
Joshi said the State Election Commission's decision to conduct local body elections using ballot papers instead of EVMs amounts to a regressive step that undermines decades of electoral progress.
He described the move as a backward step that would derail the gains achieved over the years.
He pointed out that even the recent KAP (Knowledge, Attitude and Practice) survey conducted by a state government department clearly showed that people trust EVMs.
Bengaluru was among the first cities in the country where EVMs were used on an experimental basis in the latter half of the 1980s, and Karnataka formally adopted EVMs in the 1990s.
Returning to outdated practices now is truly unfortunate, he said.
Joshi stated that EVMs with VVPAT have become the backbone of India's electoral process.
However, he alleged that the Karnataka government is ignoring these facts and opting for ballot papers to suit baseless allegations about elections.
He further said that electoral malpractices at polling booths largely disappeared after the introduction of EVMs.
The recent KAP survey by a Karnataka state department also reaffirmed public confidence in EVMs.
Karnataka's contribution to India's EVM revolution has been significant, and VVPAT-enabled EVMs have further strengthened the country's electoral process, he added.
By ignoring this legacy and deciding to revert to ballot papers merely to please its high command in Delhi, the Congress-led government has acted in a manner that is truly shameful, Joshi alleged.
(With inputs from IANS)
