Pune: A gram panchayat in Maharashtra’s Sangli district has passed a resolution supporting the use of ballot papers instead of EVMs in future elections to “protect the Constitution,” a gram sabha member has said.
Bahe village in Walva tehsil of Sangli district is perhaps the second village in western Maharashtra to pass a resolution discarding EVMs for ballot papers.
In December, the gram sabha of Kolewadi village in Karad (south) constituency in Satara district resolved to cast votes in future polls on ballot papers.
“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. 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.
The villagers submitted the resolution to the tehsildar, he said.
These resolutions were passed amid the doubts cast by Opposition leaders on the credibility of Electronic Voting Machines post the victory of BJP and allies in the Maharashtra assembly elections in November.
A section of villagers from Markadwadi in the Malshiras constituency in Solapur district attempted to conduct a mock poll on ballot papers raising doubt over EVMs, following the reduced victory margin of the NCP (SP) candidate.
