Karnataka to seek holding of local polls with ballot paper

Law Minister H.K. Patil announced on Thursday that the Cabinet had cleared amendments to replace electronic voting machines with ballot papers. He said the move was prompted by mounting complaints about irregularities in the voter list and declining public trust in EVMs.

“Recently, people in Karnataka have observed many discrepancies in the preparation of the voters’ list, and a large number of complaints have been received,” Patil said. He added that “trust in EVMs has generally been declining,” and that the decision to return to ballots reflected both reliability concerns and public sentiment.

The minister also said the Cabinet had recommended revisions and corrections to the electoral roll to ensure accuracy, and that the State Election Commission would be tasked with preparing what he called a “high-quality electoral roll.”