Bengaluru: The State BJP has strongly criticized the Congress government’s recent cabinet decision to replace Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) with ballot papers for local body elections.
State BJP president B.Y. Vijayendra accused the ruling party of “dragging Karnataka back to the era of thumb impressions.” He challenged the Congress leadership, saying:
“If they do not trust EVMs, then all 136 Congress MLAs who won the last Assembly elections using the same system should resign and face fresh polls.”
Former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), also took a swipe at the government. He dared Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to resign and contest again through ballot papers if he truly believed in the system.
Echoing the criticism, former CM Jagadish Shettar termed the cabinet’s move to revert to ballot paper voting as the “height of stupidity.”
Defending the decision, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah argued that several countries across the world have abandoned electronic systems and returned to ballot paper elections.
Meanwhile, the State Election Commissioner clarified that if the government frames rules in accordance with the law, the Election Commission is prepared to conduct elections using ballot papers.
With both Congress and BJP taking firm positions, the battle over ballot papers has escalated sharply, and all eyes are now on whether the Election Commission will ultimately grant its approval.
