Mumbai: Bahe village in Walva tehsil of Sangli district has become the second village in Maharashtra to pass a resolution seeking paper ballot in future elections. The resolution adopted by the gram panchayat was later submitted to the Tehsildar.
“The gram sabha in Bahe village passed a resolution recently supporting the use of ballot papers in all future elections instead of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). We also appeal to other villages and their respective gram panchayats to pass similar resolutions to safeguard and protect the Constitution and democracy,” said a Bahe gram sabha member.
In December last year, Kolewadi village in Satara district resolved to conduct future elections on ballot papers expressing doubts over the EVMs.
Kolewadi village falls under the Karad (South) assembly constituency, earlier represented by veteran Congress leader and former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, who faced a surprising defeat to BJP’s Atul Bhosale by a margin of over 39,000 votes in the recently held Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha polls.
The result was considered as a huge upset as the constituency was considered as a traditional Congress stronghold. In 16 Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha elections so far, Congress had won the Karad South constituency consecutive 13 times.
The Election Commission should revert to the ballot paper mechanism in view of a “collective demand. If the administration doesn’t allow us to vote on ballot papers, we will boycott the polling process, a Kolewadi villager had said.
The resolution from Bahe villagers further reflects growing skepticism among villagers and opposition leaders regarding the credibility of EVMs, following the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance’s stunning success in the Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha elections.
Earlier, Markadwadi villagers in Solapur’s Malshiras constituency had also tried to conduct a mock ‘re-polling’ using ballot papers expressing doubt on the credibility of EVMs. However, their bid was thwarted by the administration and police, leading to the registration of cases.
