Ballot boxes will be used in the forthcoming panchayat elections in Odisha. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, Dec. 17: Instead of modern electronic voting machines (EVMs), the State Election Commission (SEC) will rely on the outmoded ballot paper system while conducting the upcoming panchayat elections in Odisha.

Secretary, SEC, Muralidhar Barik said: “We are not equipped to hold the panchayat elections using EVMs. All the panchayat elections held in the past were conducted using ballot papers. This time too, the elections will be held using ballot papers and not EVMs.”

Barik said the state would raise the issue of using EVMs at the state election commissioners’ meet to be held in Calcutta in January.

“If we are to use EVMs, we will require nearly Rs 100 crore to conduct the panchayat elections. All the existing EVMs have to be replaced by new ones. It would not be possible this time,” Barik added.

Explaining the problem, the poll official said panchayat elections involved a voter to cast a series of votes to elect ward members, panchayat samiti members, sarpanches and zilla parishad members and the present EVM machines were not equipped to deal with such complex issues.

Earlier, Opposition parties, including the BJP and the Congress, had demanded the use of ballot papers in panchayat polls.

After BJD had won the Umerkote Assembly bypoll on December 4, the Opposition parties alleged that the ruling party candidate had emerged victorious by tampering with EVMs.

On the other hand, all political parties have demanded that panchayat elections should be held on a single day and not in phases.

Senior BJP leader Suresh Pujari said: “Election phases always influence voters of other areas. We will appeal to the election commission to make necessary arrangements for conducting polls on a single day. The administrative arrangement should be made accordingly.”

Senior Congress leader Sibananda Ray said the party welcomed the state election commissioner’s decision to hold the polls through ballot papers. The all-party meet held at the election commissioner’s office had also agreed to it, he said.

In the ensuing panchayat polls, 50 per cent seats will be reserved for women. Earlier this year, the government had made an announcement to this effect.

As per the scheduled programme, orange ballot papers would be used for ward members, green for sarpanches, yellow for samiti members and white for zilla parishad members. During the filing of nomination papers, candidates have to submit their caste certificate.

However, the voting expenditure for the candidate has been doubled for the panchayat poll. A sarpanch candidate can spend Rs 30,000, samiti member Rs 30,000 and zilla parishad member Rs 60,000 for electioneering.