Overview
- Patole wrote to State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis seeking paper ballots for the February 5 elections to 12 zilla parishads and 25 panchayat samitis.
- He cited recent municipal polls across 29 corporations, alleging errors in voter rolls, missing names, and long searches for booths that left many unable to vote.
- He said VVPAT was not used and claimed indelible ink could be washed off, arguing both issues weakened vote verification and process integrity.
- He pointed to states that have returned to paper ballots for local body polls and questioned Maharashtra’s continued reliance on EVMs as his view that it may serve certain interests.
- The demand comes after a poor Congress showing in the municipal results and internal pressure on the party’s Mumbai leadership, with no official response yet from election authorities or the state government.