Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah launched a robust defence of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday, accusing sections of the media and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of deliberately misrepresenting an Election Commission-linked survey. He stated this was done to undermine serious allegations of voter list manipulation raised by the Opposition.
Survey Misrepresented to Create Misleading Narrative
In a detailed post on social media platform X, Siddaramaiah argued that an administrative survey conducted earlier in the year was being selectively cited. The aim, he claimed, was to falsely suggest that concerns over electoral malpractice raised by Rahul Gandhi had been "disproved." The Chief Minister described this as a deliberate attempt to manufacture a misleading narrative against the Congress leadership.
He clarified that the survey in question was not a political or opinion poll. It was an end-line evaluation carried out in May 2025 under the Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) programme. Its sole purpose was to assess voter awareness efforts, not to validate the integrity of elections or to respond to allegations that surfaced months later. "An awareness survey cannot be twisted into a certificate of electoral integrity," Siddaramaiah wrote emphatically.
Timing, Sample Size, and Neutrality Questions Raised
The Chief Minister highlighted a critical flaw in using the survey to counter the 'Vote Chori' allegations. Rahul Gandhi raised the issue of organised voter list manipulation only in August 2025. Using data collected in May, before these allegations emerged, to counter later claims was not fact-checking but a distortion of facts, he asserted.
Siddaramaiah also questioned the statistical validity given to the survey's findings. He pointed out that the survey covered 5,100 respondents in a state with over 5.3 crore adult voters, amounting to less than 0.01% of the electorate. "In constituencies like Bengaluru Central, where allegations of voter list manipulation are most acute, the respondent count runs into mere double digits. Projecting this as the definitive 'people’s verdict' is statistically indefensible," he stated.
Further, he alleged a conflict of interest, noting the survey was conducted by an NGO named GRAAM. This NGO was founded by Dr R Balasubramaniam, who currently holds a Union government-appointed position and authored a book praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2024. Siddaramaiah said this aspect was ignored in most media reports.
Criminal Probe and Unanswered Questions on Electoral Process
Countering claims that Rahul Gandhi was questioning democracy itself, Siddaramaiah said the Congress leader had only sought transparency on specific issues. These included access to voter rolls, safeguards against surveillance, scrutiny of EVMs, and the independence of the Election Commissioner appointment process. He stressed these questions remain unanswered.
To substantiate the seriousness of the 'Vote Chori' allegations, the Chief Minister cited the ongoing Aland case investigation in Karnataka. A police Special Investigation Team (SIT) filed a massive 22,000-page chargesheet naming seven accused, including a former BJP MLA. They are accused of attempting to illegally delete nearly 6,000 genuine voters using OTP bypass technology. Siddaramaiah noted this probe was pursued by the Congress government despite winning the seat and led to systemic changes by the Election Commission.
The political row erupted after the BJP cited findings from this Karnataka survey to claim a majority of respondents trust EVMs and believe Indian elections are free and fair. BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said Rahul Gandhi gets a "reality check" after every electoral defeat. In response, Congress leaders like Priyank Kharge and Supriya Shrinate have questioned the survey's credibility, timing, sample size, and the neutrality of the conducting agency.
Siddaramaiah concluded that a limited, pre-event administrative survey cannot override hard evidence, formal chargesheets, or unresolved constitutional questions. He termed it unfortunate that these facts were being ignored to promote what he called a distorted narrative.
