DK Suresh breaks ranks, opposes return to ballot papers in Karnataka elections
BENGALURU:
Congress leader and former Member of Parliament from Bengaluru Rural DK Suresh on Monday surprised many within his party by opposing the use of ballot papers in elections in Karnataka, even as the State Election Commission prepares to reintroduce them for local body polls.
“It doesn’t seem necessary to bring back the ballot. The ballot should not be reintroduced. We have already taken a step forward,” Suresh, brother of Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, said.
He also said the local body elections are conducted by the state election commission (SEC), ruling out misuse of electronic voting machines.
Suresh’s remarks assume significance as he becomes the first Congress leader in the State to publicly oppose ballot paper-based elections after SEC Commissioner G.S. Sangreshi announced that ballots would be used not only for elections to Bengaluru’s five newly created municipal corporations, but also for the forthcoming taluk panchayat and zilla panchayat polls.
Until now, these elections had been conducted using Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
Suresh’s position stands in sharp contrast to that of senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who has on several occasions questioned the integrity of EVMs and argued in favour of a return to ballot papers. Rahul Gandhi has alleged that EVMs are vulnerable to manipulation and has demanded greater transparency in the electoral process, though election authorities have consistently rejected claims of hacking.
The BJP, meanwhile, has consistently defended the use of EVMs, arguing that they are secure, tamper-proof and improve efficiency by eliminating invalid votes and speeding up counting.
Municipal, taluk panchayat and zilla panchayat elections are conducted by the Karnataka State Election Commission, an independent constitutional body that functions under the framework of the Karnataka government. In contrast, Assembly and Parliamentary elections are conducted by the Election Commission of India, a central constitutional authority.