Bengaluru: The Congress-led authorities in Karnataka has determined to make use of poll papers in all city native physique elections, together with the long-pending Bengaluru metropolis council polls.

The Congress get together has referred to as it a “daring step in the direction of restoring democracy”.

The choice was taken by Siddaramaiah’s cupboard Thursday night.

The choice has led to the ruling get together and the Opposition locking horns. For over a decade now, political events just like the Congress and Aam Aadmi Social gathering (AAP) amongst others have questioned the reliability of EVMs, typically arguing that they are often tampered with.

Although there isn’t a conclusive proof that EVMs may be hacked, the Opposition on the Centre has alleged that the machines are being tampered with to favour the Bharatiya Janata Social gathering (BJP).

India switched to EVMs in 2004, eliminating paper ballots which needed to be counted bodily.

The Siddaramaiah-led Karnataka Authorities’s determination to make use of paper ballots in all upcoming ULB elections seems not simply to have fed into the EVM versus poll paper debate, however diverts consideration from the truth that the state has not had any native administration in any respect for years now.

This contains Bengaluru, the state and nation’s development engine, which has been with out an elected council since September 2020.

In June 2017, the Election Fee of India (ECI) performed an EVM problem the place political events had been requested to display if the machines might be tampered with. Simply two events—Nationalist Congress Social gathering and Communist Social gathering of India (Marxist)—turned up, and even they didn’t take part.

However questions concerning the reliability of EVMs haven’t subsided regardless of the Congress having gained a number of state elections.

Karnataka BJP president B.Y. Vijayendra mentioned that by deciding to carry again poll paper-based polls, the Congress has indicated it got here to energy in 2023 by stealing votes.

“On this context, let the 136 Congress MLAs who had been elected within the state within the 2023 elections utilizing EVMs first resign, let the 9 Congress Lok Sabha members elected from the state resign, allow them to win the elections once more utilizing poll papers, in any other case allow them to admit that they got here to energy by vote rigging…” Vijayendra mentioned.

He alleged that Rahul Gandhi, the chief of the Opposition, was pushing for poll paper votes as it could be “simpler” to govern outcomes.

Rahul Gandhi had alleged critical election malpractice by the BJP within the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, utilizing Bengaluru’s Mahadevapura for example to display how the Modi-led get together gained in a number of constituencies.

He talked about a number of examples, one among which was that of a single-room home the place 80 individuals had been registered as voters. Rahul Gandhi had alleged widespread voter checklist manipulation, faux addresses and faux voters amongst different irregularities within the Mahadevapura meeting phase, the place the BJP had a lead of 1,14,046 votes within the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Since then, ‘vote chori’ has turn into the Congress and INDIA bloc’s most important ballot platform within the upcoming Bihar elections as nicely.

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‘BJP is jittery’

“To make use of poll papers in native physique elections is the choice of the federal government of Karnataka. Why is the BJP fearful about it? The state authorities is empowered to conduct native physique elections. Why is the BJP getting jittery about this?” D.Okay. Shivakumar, Deputy CM and state Congress president, mentioned Friday. He added that Grama Panchayats nonetheless use poll papers.

The Karnataka Authorities has additionally determined to organize a separate voter checklist. Randeep Singh Surjewala, the Congress normal secretary incharge of Karnataka mentioned that the state getting ready its personal checklist would lead to “extra accuracy and transparency”.

“Other than the State Election Fee, it’s doable to replace voter lists periodically on the native stage. This makes it handy to make sure that names aren’t dropped from voter lists or that ineligible names aren’t included. Since lists may be reviewed and corrected on the state stage itself, elections proceed easily,” Surjewala mentioned.

‘No hurdle in poll paper use’

There are 31 districts in Karnataka, 236 talukas which have had no native elections since Might 2021. Bengaluru has had no elections for 5 years, leaving the town by the hands of the state authorities and the bureaucrats-driven administration.

G.S. Sangreshi, the state election commissioner Friday instructed reporters that there was no particular hurdle to carry again poll papers.

“If there are some amendments required they usually (authorities) do it, we will go forward with conducting polls with poll papers,” he instructed media individuals Friday.

He added that because the election fee, they needed to observe the principles and it was not of their place to take a stand on the choice of an elected authorities.

The Congress’s determination additional strains the INDIA bloc’s relationship with election authorities in India though states have full autonomy on how they conduct ULB polls.

The Central Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar had requested Rahul Gandhi to take an oath or apologise for allegations over ‘vote chori’, including to the pressure.

Nevertheless, the Central Election Fee has little jurisdiction over the state’s choices.

“ECI has no jurisdiction over state elections. All state election commissions are autonomous, statutory entities. They will resolve no matter they need within the state,” Ashok Lavasa, the previous CEC, instructed ThePrint Friday.

(Edited by Viny Mishra)

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