BENGALURU: In a move that’s largely in sync with Congress’ nationwide campaign against what it terms as ‘vote theft’, Karnataka cabinet Thursday announced its decision to recommend to State Election Commission (SEC) to conduct upcoming panchayat and urban local body elections in state “through ballot papers instead of EVMs”.”This is because there is erosion of confidence and credibility among people over EVMs,” state law and parliamentary affairs minister H K Patil said after the cabinet meeting. Patil said the cabinet decided to introduce necessary legal measures and amend existing rules to facilitate revision of electoral rolls by SEC.The cabinet’s decision to throw its lot behind ballot papers comes alongside a recommendation for a SIR of voter list ahead of elections to panchayats and five newly-formed MCs in Bengaluru.”Over past couple of months, there have been widespread concerns in Karnataka, and across country, of vote theft due to mismatches, additions and deletions in the voter list,” Patil said. “Now, we have decided to recommend to SEC to conduct a revision of voter list and ensure there is no denial of opportunity to voters in Karnataka to cast their ballot,” he added.
