The Pune unit of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar faction) has sharply criticised the Maharashtra State Election Commission for its decision not to use Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines in the upcoming municipal corporation elections. The party has demanded that if VVPATs are unavailable, the elections must be conducted using traditional ballot papers to uphold transparency and public trust, reported news agency ANI.

Speaking with ANI on Wednesday, senior NCP (SP) leader Rahul Kalate, who had contested the last assembly election from the Chinchwad constituency in Pune district and lost to BJP's Shankar Jagtap, said, "The civic election process is gathering pace, but the State Election Commission has taken a shocking and concerning decision. Citing a lack of sufficient VVPAT machines, they have decided not to use them at all this only creates a favorable environment for electoral malpractice."

Kalate also raised broader concerns over the credibility of the Election Commission, pointing out that questions had already been raised about its conduct during the last assembly elections. "This latest move will only deepen the confusion and mistrust among voters regarding the EC's impartiality," he told ANI.