The Karnataka government on Tuesday, March 10, introduced a Bill in the Assembly to allow the use of paper ballots in local body elections. The move seeks to replace electronic voting machines in upcoming panchayat polls. The amendment is part of preparations for overdue rural local body elections in the state.
The proposed legislation, titled the Karnataka Gram Swaraj and Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2026, aims to amend the existing Karnataka Gram Swaraj and Panchayat Raj Act to enable voting through ballot papers instead of EVMs. The Bill states that “some concerns have been raised, regarding the functioning of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) necessitating a return to the robust secret ballot paper system to restore public trust.”
According to the statement of objects and reasons, the change is intended to ensure that elections are conducted in a free, fair and transparent manner. The Bill also states that the government’s decision to revert to paper ballots “reflects a growing consensus on the need to strengthen electoral mechanisms that prioritize anonymity and transparency” and was taken “in response to concerns about EVM credibility and voter privacy.” It further states that the amendments aim to ensure secrecy of the ballot, protect voters from coercion and intimidation, and implement the Supreme Court judgement in Kuldip Nayar vs Union of India.
If passed, the amendment will also change the process for preparing electoral rolls, assigning that responsibility to the assistant commissioner of the zilla panchayat instead of the election commission.
The Cabinet had cleared the Bill in the first week of February 2026. In September last year, the Cabinet had also recommended that the Karnataka State Election Commission switch to ballot papers for local body elections. The commission later announced that paper ballots would be used in polls, including for the five new city corporations created under the Greater Bengaluru Authority.
The decision followed allegations by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi that EVMs were manipulated in favour of the BJP during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He had blamed such manipulation for the Congress party’s defeat in the Bengaluru Central constituency.
EVMs were first introduced in panchayat elections in Karnataka in 2015. With the proposed amendment, paper ballots could make a partial return to the state’s electoral process after more than a decade. Elections to zilla and taluk panchayats have been pending for nearly five years.
Opposition parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party, have criticised the proposal and described it as regressive. BJP leaders have questioned how the Congress could have secured a decisive victory in the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections if EVMs were unreliable.
Apart from this Bill, the government also introduced other legislation in the Assembly, including the Karnataka Jnana Bhandar Manuscripts and Digitisation Bill to establish a Karnataka Manuscripts Authority to survey, conserve and digitise manuscripts. The Karnataka Lokayukta (Amendment) Bill was also introduced to align the allowances and service conditions of the Lokayukta with those of judges of the Supreme Court of India or the Chief Justice of a High Court. A minor amendment to the Karnataka Police Act was proposed to address the transfer of police officers on grounds such as misconduct, gross negligence, dereliction of duty or moral turpitude.