In a scathing attack on Karnataka’s Congress-led government, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has criticized the state cabinet’s decision to conduct future panchayat and urban local body elections using ballot papers instead of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). The move, announced on September 4, 2025, has ignited a political firestorm, with the BJP labeling it as a tacit admission of “vote theft” by the ruling party.

BJP state president B.Y. Vijayendra demanded that all 136 Congress MLAs elected in the 2023 Assembly polls and the nine Congress MPs from Karnataka resign and contest re-elections using ballot papers to prove their legitimacy. “Let them win the elections again using ballot paper, or accept that they came to power through vote theft,” Vijayendra stated, alleging that the Congress’s decision exposes its questionable electoral practices.

The Karnataka cabinet, led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, justified the shift to ballot papers by citing “erosion of public confidence and credibility in EVMs,” as stated by Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H.K. Patil. The cabinet also empowered the State Election Commission (SEC) to revise electoral rolls for local body polls, addressing reported discrepancies and allegations of electoral malpractices.

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Vijayendra, in a strongly worded post on X, accused the Congress of having a history of electoral irregularities, particularly during ballot paper-based elections. He referenced past instances of alleged vote theft and election violence under Congress rule, including the infamous Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi following court rulings on electoral malpractices. “The highest number of illegal voting, complaints of vote theft, and incidents of election violence have been registered during ballot paper elections—and that too against Congressmen,” he claimed.

The BJP leader further alleged that the Congress, rattled by recent electoral setbacks, is resorting to “childish controversies” under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, who has been vocal about alleged EVM vulnerabilities. Vijayendra argued that the push for ballot papers is a deliberate attempt to facilitate “electoral irregularities, booth violence, and fraudulent voting” while undermining technological advancements embraced globally.

As Karnataka’s decision to revert to ballot papers stirs debate, the BJP has framed it as an assault on transparent and democratic elections. With the SEC now tasked with implementing this controversial policy, the political battle over electoral integrity in Karnataka is set to intensify.

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