EVMs out: Bengaluru civic polls to use ballot papers, says State Election Commissioner

Bengaluru: Ballot papers will be used in the upcoming polls for five new municipal corporations under the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), State Election Commissioner G S Sangreshi said Friday.

Sangreshi was reacting to the Cabinet decision Friday on replacing Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) with ballot papers for all local body elections. The Cabinet also decided to authorise the SEC with preparation and revision of electoral rolls.

The much-delayed election of municipal councillors in Bengaluru, last held in 2015, are slated early next year. Election to the now-abrogated Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) was due in 2020.

"The SEC will prepare the electoral rolls and use ballot papers for elections to the five GBA corporations," Sangreshi told reporters.

The Supreme Court, Sangreshi said, has directed the state government to complete the delimitation exercise by November 1 and fix ward-wise reservations by November 30. "The government is working towards this as per my knowledge," he said.

Elections to Zilla Panchayats and Taluk Panchayats are also due. They were supposed to be held in May-June 2021.

The SEC is ready to hold local body polls using ballot papers, Sangreshi insisted, adding that he need not consult the Election Commission. "SEC is a Constitutional body, which has the same powers as EC," he pointed out.

"The EVMs that we have are over 15 years old. The Election Commission has directed us to dispose them of. We're forming an internal expert committee to discuss with BEL the process of disposing of the EVMs," Sangreshi said.

Sangreshi said the switch to ballot papers "should not be" a challenge. "Gram Panchayat elections still use ballot papers. Voters in Gram Panchayats are the same in Zilla Panchayats and Taluk Panchayats. So, voters in rural areas have knowledge about ballot papers. What's wrong with switching to ballot papers? It's not unconstitutional," he said.

Sangreshi added that the SEC will prepare electoral rolls in a "transparent and confidence-inspiring manner".