A major change has been made by the State Election Commission regarding the upcoming Panchayati Raj elections in Rajasthan. Under this change, it has now been decided that voting in the Panch and Sarpanch elections will be conducted not through EVM but through ballot paper. Regarding this, the State Election Commission has also issued detailed guidelines to all the district collectors, while on the other hand, the voting of Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti will be done through EVM as per the old process.

Sarpanch elections will be conducted through ballot paper and ballot box.

According to the guidelines issued by the State Election Commission, the elections of Panch and Sarpanch are to be conducted through ballot paper and ballot box. In such a situation, security related arrangements have also been ensured. Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections are to be held using EVMs, but if EVMs fail at any place or there is any kind of chaos, arrangements for ballot papers and ballot boxes will be ensured there too so that there is no disruption in the voting process anywhere.

Let us tell you that since the last three Panchayati Raj elections in Rajasthan, elections for all the posts including Panch, Sarpanch, Panchayat Samiti and Zilla Parishad have been conducted through EVMs only. The last Panchayati Raj elections were also conducted entirely through EVMs. In such a situation, the return of ballot system in Panch and Sarpanch elections after a long time is being seen as a big change.

Considering the time limit, there will be alternatives to EVM and ballot paper.

According to the State Election Commission, elections are to be conducted in a timely and systematic manner. Limited availability of EVMs has also been made so that there is no negligence and the voting process can be conducted in a calm and safe environment. Keeping this in view, both EVM and ballot paper options have been kept together so that the voting process cannot be affected under any circumstances.