Hyderabad/New Delhi: The BRS has asked the Election Commission of India to bring back ballot papers for voting, starting with the Bihar Assembly Elections in November 2025, to boost public trust in elections.
On Tuesday, BRS leaders officially presented a detailed appeal to the Election Commission, emphasizing the need to address significant issues impacting fair elections. KT Rama Rao, the Party Working President, led the delegation that met with the Election Commission in New Delhi.
Their appeal to the Chief Election Commissioner highlighted four key issues: the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, the push for paper ballots, the misuse of similar free symbols affecting the party’s identity, and the lack of action on past complaints about Model Code of Conduct (MCC) violations.
The BRS expressed concern about the timing and focus of the SIR in Bihar, warning it could unfairly remove many voters, particularly migrants and disadvantaged groups. They argued that documents like Aadhaar and Voter ID should be enough for voting eligibility and called for the SIR to be halted.
The party also voiced worries about continued use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), citing growing public distrust and noting that countries like the US, UK, Japan, and Germany do not use them for national elections.
Furthermore, the BRS pointed out the confusion caused by free symbols similar to their reserved symbol, the Car. They identified eight symbols, including Camera, Chapati Roller, and Television, that look too similar when displayed small, particularly for illiterate and older voters. The party asked for these symbols to be removed.
The BRS also criticized the slow response to their previous complaints during the 2023 Assembly and 2024 Lok Sabha elections, which included derogatory statements by rivals, uneven handling of complaints, and violations of the MCC like misuse of social media and hate speech.
MPs KR Suresh Reddy, Vaddiraju Ravichandra, former MP B Vinod Kumar, and senior leaders Balka Suman and RS Praveen Kumar were part of the delegation.
