Bengaluru, Nov 8 (NationPress) Karnataka's Deputy Chief Minister and State Congress President D.K. Shivakumar announced on Saturday that the state government is contemplating conducting local body elections using ballot papers instead of relying on Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).

This announcement is particularly relevant as the elections for the Bengaluru civic agency are approaching.

During a joint press briefing with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah regarding electoral fraud in Bengaluru, Shivakumar expressed, "When we request the Election Commission for supporting documents to investigate allegations of electoral misconduct, they ask us to provide evidence. Therefore, we are considering the use of ballot papers for municipal elections."

“In Karnataka's Aland constituency, our MLA and Minister Priyank Kharge raised concerns about irregularities even before the elections. Following this, the Election Commission initiated an inquiry. Fake applications were submitted at 4 a.m. to remove names from the voter list -- in just 17 minutes, 14 votes were eliminated.

Approximately 6,000 deletions were attempted. The SIT investigation uncovered that individuals from outside the state utilized their mobile numbers to conduct these deletions,” he elaborated.

At a protest in Freedom Park, Bengaluru, Rahul Gandhi, AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, and our Chief Minister underscored these irregularities, sending a powerful message nationwide. This issue extends beyond a single constituency; similar fraudulent activities have occurred in Gandhi Nagar and elsewhere. Voter lists were manipulated to shift the names of minority, backward, and Dalit voters across booths, diminishing Congress support,” he clarified.

“The Election Commission holds full responsibility for electoral processes. In 256 booths, 7,250 votes were eliminated through the misuse of Form 7. Applications were traced back to mobile numbers from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, and Jharkhand.

“On February 23, at least 151 voters whose names were eliminated filed complaints. However, the Commission has not cooperated, despite 12 letters from the investigation officers. Reports indicate that BJP candidate Subhash Guttedar allegedly destroyed documents, including voter lists. It has been revealed that Rs 80 was paid for each deleted vote,” Shivakumar stated.

“We previously exposed the misuse of the Chilume organization before the Assembly elections. An investigation report will be released soon,” he added.

“The Commission is behaving like a BJP agent, and our mission is to raise awareness and safeguard voting rights,” he stated.

When asked about the Election Commission's alleged indifference to the accusations, he responded, “Over 300 MPs have submitted a proposal to the Central Election Commission. To date, we have received no response. They claim they will file an FIR yet take no action. They are aware of who would be implicated if they conduct a thorough investigation. Regardless, we continue our efforts,” he concluded.