The state government on Tuesday informed the Supreme Court that bypolls in the state are likely to be delayed by five to six months due to pending preparatory processes, a day after the Karnataka Assembly passed the bill mandating the use of paper ballots instead of electronic voting machines in local body elections.
The delay affects elections in 5,950 gram panchayats, which have over 96,000 members collectively.
According to government reports, it will take about four weeks to determine the total number of members based on updated demographic data, followed by a reservation process that may take at least three months before the final notification is issued.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Vibhu Bhakru and Justice CM Ponacha was hearing public interest petitions filed by the State Election Commission, which sought directions for timely holding of elections to gram panchayats and 187 urban local bodies.
The court recorded the government’s status report and postponed the hearing to April 29.
“The Karnataka State Delimitation Commission has initiated the process of determining the number of seats in each gram panchayat based on previous census data. On March 18, the deputy commissioners were directed to submit the required data within 15 days,” the government told the court. The officials added that it will take about two weeks to collect the data, one week for the committee to review and recommend it, and another week for the government to finalize the total number of members.
Only after this exercise will the government proceed with allotting reservations to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Backward Classes and women – a move it told the court would require at least three additional months.
Progress in urban local body elections remains uneven. Of these 187 agencies, the demarcation of neighborhood boundaries has been completed in 167 of them, while 21 others are still pending.
Draft reservation notices have been issued to 23 agencies, and the final notices are still under review. Draft ward-level reservation plans for 143 urban local bodies are also being examined.
The developments in the court come alongside the passage of the Karnataka Gram Panchayat and Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which provides for ballot-based voting for elections to gram panchayat, taluk panchayat and zilla panchayat. The bill was approved after BJP and JD(S) members walked out after a heated debate.
Opposition leader R Ashoka had described the bill as “reactionary” before tearing up a copy of it and walking out of the Assembly.
State Rural Development and Panchayati Minister Priyank Karg defended the move, saying, “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, which prompted us to switch to ballot papers.”
Opposition members criticized the decision, describing it as reactionary and accusing the government of undermining constitutional institutions.
BJP leader Suresh Kumar said it was ironic that a technology-related government was moving away from e-voting, while Ashok pointed out that the Congress had originally introduced electronic devices.
Karg responded that ballot-based voting continues in several places globally and in some local elections within India.
