Bengaluru civic body elections after May 25 via ballot papers, confirms state poll body chief

Elections to the five newly formed city corporations under the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) will be held after May 25, and they will be held with ballot papers instead of electronic voting machines (EVMs), Karnataka Chief Election Commissioner G S Sangreshi said on Monday (January 19).

He also said the zilla and taluk panchayat polls, which are expected later in 2026, will be held using ballot papers as well.

"Elections will be held tentatively after May 25, after SSLC (Class 10) and PUC (Class 11 and 12) examinations are over," Sangreshi said.

Ballots over EVMs

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru on the use of ballot papers, the chief poll commissioner said, "There are two best practices to hold elections, ballot papers were held since the beginning, but since the last 20-30 years EVMs are being used.”

“Use of ballot papers is not barred by law or by the judgments of the Supreme Court," he added.

Last September, the Congress government in Karnataka had decided to recommend to the state election commission (SEC) to hold all the future panchayat and urban local body polls in the state using ballot papers, and claimed there is an erosion of confidence and credibility among the people towards mechanical polling through EVMs.

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Noting that developed countries like the United States also use ballot papers, the commissioner said most elections, including those at the gram panchayats and cooperatives, are held using ballot papers. Only the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections are held through EVMs.

"However, the Bengaluru corporation polls in 2015 were held using EVMs," Sangreshi noted. Bengaluru has not seen civic polls since then.

No government pressure

Responding to a question on whether the decision to use ballot papers was under the government's pressure, he said the SEC is an independent constitutional body, and as the law provides for elections to be held either using ballot papers or EVMs, the panel has the discretion to decide.

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In response to a question, Sangreshi said the zilla and taluk Panchayat polls will also be held using ballot papers.

"Using ballot papers is a choice, the state election commission after considering what is good in the present scenario, after discussion and thinking, felt that use of ballot papers is appropriate. Most of those voting since the last 20-30 years [in Bengaluru] have not seen ballot papers as EVMs are being used. Ballot paper is also a best practice, throughout the world it is appreciated," he said.

He added that using ballot papers doesn't signal going back to the old ages, as they are still being used in several elections.

Bengaluru civic body polls

Last week, the Supreme Court had asked the Karnataka government and the state poll commission to hold the Bengaluru local body elections by June 30.

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The tenure of the earlier elected body, under the erstwhile Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) expired on September 10, 2020, and since then, a government-appointed administrator has been taking care of its day-to-day affairs.

Bengaluru has been divided into five new municipal corporations — Central, East, West, North, and South — under the GBA in September 2025, replacing the BBMP.

(With agency inputs)