Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar has written to the Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC), urging the use of voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines or ballot papers in the upcoming local body elections. His demand follows the commission’s recent announcement that VVPATs will not be used in these polls.
Call for Transparency in Poll Process
In his letter, Wadettiwar argued that political parties across several states have repeatedly raised serious allegations of vote tampering against election authorities. “The Election Commission’s decision not to use VVPATs again confirms these concerns. They claim that using VVPATs would take more time due to the large number of votes cast, but this should not come at the cost of transparency,” he said.
He further stated, “Local body elections should be conducted either with VVPATs or using ballot papers. This will help dispel public doubts, build trust in the transparency of the process, and ensure smooth conduct of polls.”
SEC Rules Out VVPAT Use for Local Body Elections
Maharashtra SEC Dinesh Waghmare recently said that the election process for local self-government bodies is expected to begin after Diwali. However, he confirmed that VVPAT machines will not be used, citing their unavailability and noting that no other SEC in India uses them for local body polls.
Waghmare said, “In the past, VVPAT machines were not used in these elections, and this time too, they will not be used.”
Opposition Leaders Join Criticism
The decision has drawn criticism from several political leaders, including Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, who, during a visit to Delhi last week, remarked, “VVPATs were introduced when doubts were raised about EVMs. Now, if you’re not going to use them, why even conduct elections?”
