The Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) has clarified that there is currently no legal provision for using Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines in local body elections across the state.
The clarification comes amid demands from Opposition parties to conduct upcoming local body elections in Maharashtra using VVPAT machines to ensure greater transparency. Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Vijay Wadettiwar had also urged that if VVPATs could not be deployed, polls should be held using ballot papers instead.
Local body elections, including those for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), are slated to be completed by January 2026.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the SEC explained that most local body elections in Maharashtra are conducted under a multi-member ward system, which currently does not support the use of VVPATs with existing voting machines.
The Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC), comprising representatives from all State Election Commissions in India, is examining the development of voting machines compatible with VVPAT attachments for such systems. However, the committee’s final report is still pending, making the immediate use of VVPATs infeasible.
The SEC also noted that while Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were incorporated into local body election laws in 2005, there is no existing legal framework for VVPAT use. It further stated that any amendment to the relevant acts—such as the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, the Maharashtra Municipal Councils Act, and the Zilla Parishads Act—falls outside its jurisdiction.
