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Copyright starofmysore
The decision of the Karnataka State Cabinet to recommend to the State Election Commission (SEC) to use ballot papers instead of the EVMs, in the upcoming local body polls, both urban and rural, is regressive and antediluvian. Of course, the relevant Acts and Rules have to be amended to facilitate this changeover backwards.
The reason cited for this decision is that there are allegations, though not substantiated, from the Congress and other Opposition parties that the EVMs are being manipulated at the instance of the BJP and that ballot papers are safe.
This logic is somewhat similar to saying that we should travel by bullock carts and not by motor vehicles since the latter are not safe.
Recently, Air India’s Boeing plane crashed near Ahmedabad, causing a large number of deaths. Should we then stop travelling by air and revert to travelling overseas by ships as was being done before the invention of the aeroplane?
Those who have conducted elections for decades know that EVMs are quite safe and have now become indispensable. Maximum electoral malpractices have occurred when ballot papers were used.
Moreover, the counting process, apart from being cumbersome and time-consuming, would never be accurate with the ballot papers. Apart from human errors, the issue of ‘invalid votes’ at the time of counting of votes would be a matter of concern.
Many a time, when the margin of difference between two candidates is very narrow, which is quite common in the local bodies polls, we can’t be sure which candidate actually won the election.
The SEC, if it is truly independent, should firmly record its opposition to the holding of polls with ballot papers, as it would make its task burdensome.
Besides, this move to hold elections with ballot papers would go against the concept of the green initiative and paperless governance, as crores of ballot papers have to be printed, which would mean the axing of a large number of trees.
– K.R. Jayaprakash Rao, Nazarbad, 8.9.2025
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