Mallikarjun Kharge, the Congress president, called for a return to paper ballots in the nation’s elections during a meeting of the INDIA bloc on 15 March. The push follows a series of grievances lodged by the Election Commission’s panel, including 14 formal objections by commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
EVMs first appeared in Kerala’s Parur Assembly constituency in 1982 and have since replaced ballot papers across every election. Kharge’s five‑point demand lists the use of pre‑SIR rolls for future polls, a robust appeal mechanism before voter removal, safeguards against administrative exclusion, ballot voting, and simplified voter registration.
The BJP and the Election Commission dismiss the allegations as routine intra‑panel debate. “The panel’s deliberations reflect normal administrative processes,” said a spokesperson for the EC. Yet Kharge insists that the current system erodes voter confidence.
For many voters, the shift feels personal. “When the machine fails, I’ve lost my vote,” says Ramesh Kumar, a 72‑year‑old farmer in Uttar Pradesh, who has seen his name removed from the rolls twice.
The INDIA bloc has set a 30‑March deadline for the EC to reply. If the commission does not meet the deadline, the bloc threatens to file a petition in the Supreme Court, potentially suspending EVM usage until the dispute is resolved.