Overview
- State Election Commissioner G S Sangreshi said five Greater Bengaluru Authority city corporations will vote using paper ballots after May 25, with zilla and taluk panchayat polls to follow later this year.
- Congress MP D K Suresh called the switch to ballots "not needed," a stance at odds with the Karnataka government’s position.
- Opposition leader R Ashoka accused the government of political insecurity and highlighted the irony that Bengaluru hosts Bharat Electronics Ltd, which manufactures India’s EVMs.
- The BJP cited a government-commissioned survey it says showed public trust in EVMs, arguing the rollback undermines institutions and technology.
- The Congress-led government had recommended the return to ballot papers in September, citing erosion of public confidence in electronic voting, as the BJP now escalates unverified excise bribery allegations against the state leadership.