Decision on going back to ballot paper for local body polls based on experience: Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday defended the decision on going back to ballot paper for local body polls, saying that it was made "based on experience".

The Congress government in Karnataka on Thursday decided to recommend to the State Election Commission (SEC) to hold all the future panchayat and urban local body polls in the state using ballot paper instead of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).

"Our intention is to use ballot paper. Based on our experience, we have decided that the ballot paper should be there. There are examples where several countries have returned to ballot paper from EVMs," Siddaramaiah told reporters here on Friday.

While briefing the cabinet decision on Thursday, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil had cited erosion of confidence and credibility, among people towards EVMs, as the reason for the decision.

The Cabinet has also decided to authorise the state election commission to "prepare, revise and, if necessary, redo" the electoral rolls for local body polls, citing discrepancies in electoral rolls and allegations of "vote theft".

Taking a swipe at the Congress government in Karnataka, the opposition BJP on Friday claimed the state cabinet's decision to use ballot papers instead of EVMs in the next local body polls amounted to "self-certifying" that the ruling party came to power through "vote theft."

Urging the 136 Congress MLAs elected in the 2023 Assembly polls and the nine Congress MPs from the state to resign first, BJP state president B Y Vijayendra said, "Let them win the elections again using ballot paper, or accept that they came to power through vote theft."

Hitting back, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar questioned as to why the BJP is worried or horrified? "It is the decision of the Karnataka government, why is the BJP worried? The government can hold local body polls, there are provisions in law, which was enacted during their (BJP) tenure, saying that either ballot or EVM (can be used). Our government has decided to use ballot paper during local body polls, why are you (BJP) horrified?" he asked while speaking to reporters here.

Comparing BJP's opposition to "thief's mind is a mess", the Deputy CM said, "We have investigated what happened during the parliament election, I don't want to discuss it now."

Noting that this decision of the state government regarding ballot paper is for local body polls, he said, the Central Election Commission will decide for Assembly and Parliament polls.

Asked whether it will be ballot paper for the upcoming polls to five corporations in Bengaluru, Shivakumar, who is also in-charge Minister for Bengaluru, said, "The government's decision is for local body polls."

After its loss in Assembly polls in states like Haryana and Maharashtra, the Congress has expressed doubts about the EVM's infallibility and the election outcome. It has demanded a return to the paper ballot.

Amid a row over the revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had recently alleged that elections are being "stolen" in India and claimed that his party has figured out the modus operandi of the "vote theft" by studying a Lok Sabha constituency in Karnataka, which had resulted in a huge political controversy.