The Commission announced draft voter list for the GBA polls which will be conducted in either May or June

The Commission announced draft voter list for the GBA polls which will be conducted in either May or June

The Commission announced draft voter list for the GBA polls which will be conducted in either May or June

Ballot papers will be used instead of electronic voting machines in the upcoming polls to the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) scheduled for May-June, the Karnataka Election Commission announced on Monday.

The poll body did not specify any specific reason for reverting to the ballot system and merely said that the law permits their use.

“Since there is no bar on the use of ballot papers or court directions, we will go with the ballot papers,” said State Election Commissioner G.S. Sangreshi said at a media briefing which was also attended by commissioners of all five city corporations.

In India, the mandatory use of EVMs applies only to elections to state Assemblies and Parliament, Sangreshi said, adding that the decision to use ballot papers was taken after consultations with stakeholders and is in accordance with existing legal provisions.

Notably, the move follows a recommendation made by the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah-led Karnataka cabinet last year to conduct all local body elections using ballot papers. 

Law and parliamentary affairs minister H.K. Patil cited an erosion of public confidence and credibility in EVMs as the reason for the move. 

The BJP, however, had strongly opposed the move, saying the highest number of illegal voting, complaints of vote theft, incidents of election violence, and complaints about irregularities in the country had been registered in the courts during elections held on ballot papers.

The last elections to the erstwhile Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) were held using EVMs in Agust 2015.

Draft voters list out

The Commission also announced the draft list of voters for the GBA elections. Greater Bengaluru has a total of 88,91,411 voters, including 45,69,193 men, 43,20,583 women. A total of 1,635 voters have been included in the ‘other’ category.

Ward 23 of the Bengaluru West City Corporation has the most number voters at 49,530, while Ward 16 of the Bengaluru East City Corporation has the fewest at 10,926. 

Voters can file objections or submit corrections from January 20 to February 3. Also, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will conduct door-to-door verification to cross-check voter details.

The final voter list is expected to be published on March 16. According to the poll body, elections would be conducted after May 25 and before June 30.

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