Chandigarh, May 13 -- In a major procedural shift, the Punjab State Election Commission has decided to conduct the upcoming local body elections using ballot papers and ballot boxes instead of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
State Election Commissioner Raj Kamal Chaudhary confirmed that the decision was necessitated by the unavailability of EVMs from Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL).
The company, which was occupied with assembly elections in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, expressed its inability to provide the machines before May 10. The Commission noted that procuring machines, allocating them, and training staff after that date would have caused significant delays in the election schedule.
The elections, scheduled for Tuesday, May 26, ...