BENGALURU: Congress leaders have strongly contested the survey’s validity and its application to broader debates on electoral transparency.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah issued a statement criticising the “selective use” of the survey to undermine Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi’s concerns about ‘Vote Chori’ that were raised in August last year, months after the survey’s completion.
Siddaramaiah emphasised that the survey was an administrative evaluation of voter education, not a certification of electoral processes. He highlighted the timing of the survey, noting that it predated the emergence of evidence supporting Gandhi’s allegations, rendering the survey unsuitable for dismissing the allegations.
He also pointed to the sample size, representing less than 0.01% of Karnataka’s over 53 million adult voters, saying this is insufficient for broad conclusions, with some constituencies like Bengaluru Central having only double-digit respondents.
Siddaramaiah further referenced a Karnataka Police Special Investigation Team (SIT) chargesheet in Aland constituency, a 22,000-page document naming seven accused individuals, including a former BJP MLA, for attempting to delete 5,994 genuine voters using OTP bypass technology. He noted that this investigation, initiated by the Congress-led state government despite their victory in the seat, led to systemic changes by the ECI.
Former AICC general secretary B K Hariprasad and MLC Ramesh Babu echoed these criticisms in a joint release, arguing that the survey’s questions emphasised perceptions over verifiable issues like EVM malfunctions or demands for 100% Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) counting. They described the timing of the survey’s release as part of a “defensive narrative-building exercise” amid court petitions and national debates.
IT-BT Minister Priyank Kharge asserted that the survey was commissioned by the ECI through the chief electoral officer and conducted by an individual with ties to the PMO.
Blow to Cong’s ‘reckless’ campaign, says BJP
Bengaluru: BJP leaders could not contain their happiness as the findings of the survey were made public, saying that this is an endorsement of the people’s confidence in the electoral process and in EVMs. They said the survey is welcome especially when the Congress has made allegations about ‘vote chori’ and irregularities in the electoral processes.
State BJP president BY Vijayendra said, “The survey is a direct blow to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who made up the vote chori narrative only to cover up the failures of the Congress in the polls.’’ He said the numbers show that a clear majority believes in fairness of the elections and the survey exposes the Congress’ reckless campaign against the election commission. Opposition leader R Ashoka said it is a validation and proof of the people’s trust in elections and the democratic process and is in contrast to Gandhi’s statement that democracy is in danger.