Karnataka State Election Commission Opts For Ballot Papers Instead Of EVMs In Bengaluru Civic Polls: Reports

Bengaluru: In a big development, ballot papers will be used instead of electronic voting machines (EVMs) for Bengaluru civic polls, which are scheduled to take place later this year, reported News18. The decision was announced by the Karnataka State Election Commission on Monday (January 19).

Earlier, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah-led state cabinet had also recommended the use of ballot papers in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) polls. “There may be many reasons. Once the state election takes a stand by consulting all the stakeholders in the matter, we have taken a decision,” State Election Commissioner G S Sangreshi said, as quoted by News18.

The first elections to the newly created BBMP body were held in March 2010 and then in August 2015. Both these polls were held via EVMs. Notably, the Congress government in Karnataka has been pressing for long to use ballot papers as it alleged that EVMs give advantage to the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Last week, the Supreme Court set a deadline of June 30, 2026, for the completion of the election process for the BBMP. The order was passed by a bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi. The bench directed the Karnataka government to publish the final ward-wise reservation by February 20 this year.

The order was passed on a plea filed by the Karnataka government, which challenged the high court’s December 2020 order. The high court had directed the State Election Commission to conduct the BBMP elections at the earliest after the electoral rolls were finalised.

For the unversed, the tenure of the elected BBMP body expired in September 2020. However, since then, the BBMP’s day-to-day affairs were looked after by a government-appointed administrator.

The BBMP is divided into 8 zones, for the ease of administration each administered by a Zonal Commissioner. These eight zones are - Yelahaṅka Zone, Dasarahalli Zone, Rajarajesvarinagara Zone, Bommanahal̥l̥i Zone, South Zone, West Zone, East Zone and Mahadevapura Zone.