The state legislature on Monday passed a bill proposing to replace electronic voting machines with paper ballots in local body elections in Karnataka, even as opposition parties chose to boycott the vote after a heated row on the House floor.
The Karnataka Gram Swaraj and Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2026 provides for ballot-based voting for elections to Gram Panchayat, Taluk Panchayat and Zilla Panchayat.
Before leaving, Opposition leader R Ashoka tore up a copy of the bill, calling it “reactionary” and “anti-democratic”.
The government framed this shift as a response to unresolved concerns about electronic voting. While piloting the legislation, irregular patterns in polling and counting raised questions, said Priyank Karg, state rural development and panchayati raj minister. “There has been a significant increase in turnout after 5 pm in many states. There are discrepancies in the votes polled and in the counting of votes. The Election Commission of India did not satisfactorily answer the questions asked, prompting us to switch to ballot papers,” he said.
He said that the decision came in the wake of what he described as a growing “lack of confidence” in the voting process, considering that electronic systems lack transparency and operate like a “black box.”
Opposition members accused the government of undermining institutions and reversing technological progress. “It is ironic that the IT and BT minister has brought an anti-technology bill that takes the country back in time,” said Suresh Kumar, senior BJP legislator. Ashoka said it was contradictory for Congress, which introduced electronic voting machines, to move away from them now.
Supporting the government, Congress MLA Rizwan Arshad said paper ballots are widely used internationally, including in technologically advanced countries. He also criticized the Election Commission, alleging a lack of transparency. “The Election Commission is the most manipulated organization in the country today. It is a pawn of the BJP and supports the BJP only,” he said. He added that requests for machine-readable voter lists and surveillance camera footage from polling booths were not responded to.
Karg responded to criticism by pointing to practices in other regions, saying ballot papers were still being used in several states, including Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Assam, as well as in parts of the United States such as Silicon Valley.
