Bengaluru, Jan 2 (NationPress) Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah asserted that a recent survey carried out within the framework of the Election Commission has been strategically manipulated to forge a misleading narrative aimed at countering allegations of electoral misconduct put forth by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

In response to the survey’s outcomes, which emphasize voter confidence in the electoral process and Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in Karnataka, Siddaramaiah remarked, "In the last 24 hours, the Election Commission survey has been selectively utilized to create a distorted narrative -- implying that the serious concerns regarding electoral malpractices raised by Rahul Gandhi are somehow ‘debunked’.”

Taking to the social media platform X, the Chief Minister stated, “This assertion crumbles as soon as the survey is scrutinized with integrity.”

Elaborating on his stance, Siddaramaiah mentioned the misrepresentation of the survey's nature.

“Firstly, this was not a political opinion poll. It was an end-line administrative evaluation of voter awareness under the Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) programmes, commissioned by the Election Commission of India and conducted in May 2025,” he explained.

He further indicated that the survey aimed to evaluate voter education initiatives, not to validate the integrity of the electoral process or address allegations that surfaced months thereafter.

“An awareness survey cannot be distorted into a confirmation of electoral integrity,” he emphasized.

The Chief Minister highlighted the critical timing of the survey.

“The survey was executed in May 2025. Rahul Gandhi raised the issue of orchestrated voter list manipulation — ‘Vote Chori’ — in August 2025, based on evidence that emerged post-survey. Utilizing pre-allegation data to negate post-allegation evidence is not fact-checking; it is intellectual deception,” Siddaramaiah said.

He also challenged the statistical validity of drawing broad conclusions from the survey.

“The survey engaged 5,100 respondents in a state boasting over 5.3 crore adult voters — less than 0.01 percent of the electorate. In constituencies such as Bengaluru Central, where allegations of voter list manipulation are most prominent, the respondent count dwindles to mere double digits. Presenting this as a definitive ‘people’s verdict’ is statistically indefensible,” he remarked.

Siddaramaiah further pointed out what he termed a conflict of interest, noting that the survey was conducted by an NGO, GRAAM, established by Dr. R. Balasubramaniam, who currently holds a Union government-appointed position and authored a book in 2024 commending Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.

“This represents a clear conflict of interest, which much of the media coverage has overlooked,” he stated.

The Chief Minister also asserted that Rahul Gandhi’s position had been purposefully misrepresented.

“He has not questioned democracy or elections. He has demanded basic transparency from the Election Commission regarding voter roll access, surveillance safeguards, EVM examination, and the independence of the Election Commissioner appointment process — questions that remain unaddressed,” Siddaramaiah remarked.

Referring to the Aland case, he explained, “‘Vote Chori’ is not merely a slogan. It is a chargesheet. In Aland, a Karnataka Police Special Investigation Team filed a 22,000-page chargesheet naming seven accused, including a former BJP MLA, for attempting to illegally delete 5,994 legitimate voters using OTP bypass technology.”

He stated that the investigation was conducted by the state government despite winning the seat and led to systemic alterations by the Election Commission itself.

“A limited, pre-event administrative survey cannot obscure criminal evidence, chargesheets, or unanswered questions,” he expressed disappointment that various media sections amplified what he termed a misrepresented interpretation of the survey.

It is noteworthy that the survey, commissioned by Chief Electoral Officer V. Anbukumar, found that a majority of voters believed elections in India are free and fair and that trust in EVMs has grown.

The survey included 5,100 respondents across 102 Assembly segments in the administrative divisions of Bengaluru, Belagavi, Kalaburagi, and Mysuru.

Titled “Lok Sabha Elections 2024 -- Evaluation of Endline Survey of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) of Citizens”, the survey was overseen by the Karnataka Monitoring and Evaluation Authority under the Department of Planning, Programme Monitoring, and Statistics.

The findings indicated that while recognition of the significance of each vote (over 81.39 percent) and trust in the electoral process and EVMs (over 83.61 percent) were elevated, concerns regarding inducements and the influence of money and muscle power persisted, particularly in regions such as Kalaburagi.

Kalaburagi is the hometown of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge.