No provision for use of VVPATs in local body polls: Maharashtra SEC

The Maharashtra State Election Commission SEC has said there is no provision in the laws or rules governing local body elections for the use of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail VVPAT machines reported news agency PTIThe Opposition parties have demanded that the upcoming local body elections in Maharashtra be conducted using VVPAT machines to ensure transparency in the voting processIf the deployment of VVPAT machines is not feasible the elections to rural and urban civic bodies should be held using ballot papers Congress Legislature Party CLP leader Vijay Wadettiwar had said reported PTIElections to various local bodies in the state including the cashrich Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation are to be completed by January 2026The SEC in a statement on Wednesday said that except for a few exceptions almost all local body elections in the state are conducted under a multimember ward systemThe Technical Evaluation Committee TEC comprising all State Election Commissions across the country is studying the development of voting machines compatible with VVPAT attachments for such multimember systems it saidThe committees final report is yet to be submitted and therefore the use of VVPATs in local body elections is currently not feasible the SEC said reported PTIThe provision for using Electronic Voting Machines EVMs in local body elections was incorporated in the respective acts and rules in 2005 However there is no legal provision regarding the use of VVPATs it said reported PTIThe local body polls in Maharashtra are conducted under provisions of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act 1888 the Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporations Act 1949 the Maharashtra Municipal Councils Nagar Panchayats and Industrial Townships Act 1965 the Maharashtra Zilla Parishads and Panchayat Samitis Act 1961 and the Mumbai Village Panchayats Act 1958 the SEC said reported PTIIt further clarified that amending these acts or rules does not fall under its jurisdictionLottery for BMC ward reservations on Nov 11 Maharashtra SECMeanwhile the Maharashtra State Election Commission SEC has said that the lottery to determine ward reservations for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC polls will be held on November 11 reported PTIIn the schedule released late on Wednesday the poll body said the lottery result will be submitted to the SEC for approvalElections to 29 civic bodies in the state including the cashrich 227member BMC are to be completed by January 2026Citizens will be allowed to submit objections and suggestions to the ward reservations between November 14 and 20 The BMC commissioner will hear the objections and suggestions received between November 21 and 27 and take the final decisionThe final list of ward reservations will be published on November 28 the SEC said reported PTIWith inputs from PTI