Opposition tears Bill proposing ballot papers in panchayat elections, walks out 

Opposition BJP and JD(S) legislators staged a walkout in the Assembly to protest against Karnataka Gram Swaraj and Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which mandates that gram panchayat, taluk panchayat and zilla panchayat polls in the State be held using ballot boxes instead of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).

Terming the Bill a “retrograde” move, Leader of Opposition R. Ashok tore a copy of the Bill before staging the walkout. 

Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge, who tabled the Bill, said the move was necessary to restore the integrity of elections. “There has been a big surge in turnout after 5 p.m. in many States. There are discrepancies in votes polled and votes counted. The Election Commission of India has not satisfactorily answered the questions raised, prompting us to shift to ballot papers,” he said. 

This led to a heated debate in the Assembly, with multiple BJP members accusing the Congress of tarnishing constitutional authorities. “It is ironic that the IT and BT Minister has tabled a bill that is anti-technology and takes the State back in time,” senior BJP member Suresh Kumar said. Mr. Ashok added it was also ironic that the Congress, which introduced EVMs, is going back to ballot papers.

Mr. Kharge hit back, saying even people in Silicon Valley in the U.S. vote using ballot papers, and that many States in the country continue to use ballot papers to hold local body elections. 

The Bill was passed after the Opposition staged the walkout. 

Eva Nammava Bill

Meanwhile, the Assembly passed three other bills. Law Minister H.K. Patil tabled the Karnataka Freedom of Choice in Marriage and Prohibition of Crimes in the Name of Honour and Tradition Bill, 2026, (popularly referred to as Eva Nammava, Eva Nammava Bill) which deals with honour killings and other related offences.

Mr. Ashok questioned why there was a need for a dedicated bill while Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, already criminalises and deals with offences like murder. Mr. Patil said that the law not only deals with murder but other offences like boycotting the couple from the family, caste, and so on. “The Bill also creates an Eva Nammava platform, led by the Deputy Commissioner, to facilitate such marriages,” he said. 

Mr. Patil further clarified that the Bill refers to marriage and not live-in relationships. He said the words “willingness to live together” will be replaced with “Dampatya” in the Kannada version of the Bill. The Bill was passed with this amendment. 

To maintain manuscripts

Mr. Patil also tabled the Karnataka Gnana Bhandara Manuscripts Digitisation Bill, 2026, under which an authority will be established to conduct a survey of manuscripts in public and private collections and digitise them. The Authority will be given a target of digitising five lakh pages a year.

Meanwhile, Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda tabled a bill that will exempt filing returns for professional tax. Both bills were passed with the concurrence of the Opposition.