BBMP
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The elections to the five municipal bodies under the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) will be web cast from all the booths, announced the State Election Commission (SEC).
The decision to stream the voting process follows close on the heels of the SEC’s decision to revert to paper ballots for the elections in Bengaluru. The web casting of the exercise will ensure the elections are a smooth and transparent affair, said State Election Commissioner G S Sangreshi. “Web casting is one of the many measures we are taking to ensure smooth conduct of the elections. There will be no scope for tampering in the polling booth,” he added.
Admitting that elections had been web cast earlier, Sangreshi pointed out that it had been restricted to sensitive and super-sensitive booths. “Each polling station will be under CCTV surveillance. Footage from each polling booth will be streamed into the SEC office, where it will be constantly monitored,” he said.
Countering claims of paper ballot elections being more vulnerable to malpractices, Sangreshi said, “If you cite instances of paper ballot boxes going missing, I can point to incidents wherein EVM machines have been stolen. To check all such activities, we are web casting the elections from the polling booths.”
Sangreshi is confident of the SEC’s abilities to conduct the elections to the five municipal bodies without a hitch. “We will seek support from the police and other departments,” he added.
Reversion to paper ballots will have no bearing on voter turnout, said Sangreshi. “Regardless of whether we use EVMs or paper ballots, it is the people’s mindset that matters. As many as 2.97 crore people came out to vote in the elections to the 6,000 gram panchayats, which were conducted with paper ballots. The SEC will raise awareness among the people on the use of paper ballots,” he added.
Interestingly, the Karnataka Examinations Authority and the Karnataka Secondary Examination and Assessment Board had relied on web casting to prevent malpractices during second-PU and SSLC examinations respectively.