EVM Trust At 83%: Karnataka Govt Report Counters Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Vote Theft’ Charge; BJP Hits Out

New Delhi: A recent survey in Karnataka on the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 titled Evaluation of Endline Survey of KAP (Knowledge, Attitude and Practice) of Citizens has shown a strong level of public trust in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) with the survey finding that the majority of respondents across all four administrative divisions in the state believe that elections in India are conducted freely and fairly and that EVMs deliver accurate results.

As per the survey which found 'overwhelming public trust in EVMs', 83.61% of respondents expressed confidence in the machines and said 2024 Lok Sabha election was a 'free and fair' exercise. 

Overall, 69.39% of respondents agreed that EVMs provide accurate results, while 14.22% strongly agreed.

Survey Covered 5,100 respondents

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

Highest trust was seen in Kalaburagi, where 83.24% agreed and 11.24% strongly agreed that EVMs are reliable. Mysuru saw 70.67% agreeing and 17.92% strongly agreeing.

In Belagavi, 63.90% agreed and 21.43% strongly agreed. Bengaluru division recorded the lowest strong agreement at 9.28%, though 63.67% still agreed. Neutral opinions were highest in Bengaluru at 15.67%, significantly more than in the other divisions.

The findings again momentum amid the Congress' continuous campaign against ‘vote chori’ (vote theft), led by top party leader Rahul Gandhi, targeting the ruling BJP-led government at the Centre and the Election Commission of India. 

Congress VS BJP

The survey by the Karnataka Monitoring and Evaluation Authority, has become the latest flashpoint between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) prompting BJP to hit back at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his repeated claims questioning the credibility of the electoral process.

As the findings of the survey emerged, BJP and Congress engaged in war of words as Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly attacked the BJP and the Election Commission of India over the alleged EVM manipulation and 'vote chori' in the elections.

BJP Karnataka Leader of Opposition, R Ashoka taking to X posted “For years, Rahul Gandhi has travelled the country telling one story: that India’s democracy is ‘in danger’, that EVMs are ‘untrustworthy’, that our institutions cannot be believed. But Karnataka has just told a very different story.”

Calling it a slap on the face of Congress, BJP stated that statewide survey shows people's trust on elections, EVMs, and India’s democratic process, as per reports.

Karnataka minister Priyank Kharge , while responding to BJP, disavowed any link between its administration and the survey.

He said that the survey was not sanctioned by the Government of Karnataka. Rather, it was an Election Commission survey, carried out by the CEO of the Election Commission of Karnataka, and only published by a government agency.

Referring to data-backed claims by Congress MP Rahul Gandhi that the poll panel and BJP colluded to carry out mass deletion of voters before the 2023 Karnataka and 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Kharge further questioned BJP’s selective focus on the survey, asking why the party was not speaking about alleged “vote chori” in the Aland Assembly constituency in Karnataka- home turf of Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, as well as senior MLA BR Patil, who represents the constituency.

BJP's state unit chief, BY Vijayendra also posted on X highlighting Congress' 'vote chori' claim exposed again. Attacking Rahul Gandhi's 'vote-chori' claim, he said it is a direct blow to Rahul Gandhi, who chose to invent the 'vote chori' narrative after unable to accept repeated electoral failures.

In September last year, Gandhi had accused the Election Commission of engineering mass deletion of Opposition supporters from voter list before the 2023 Karnataka election.  The campaign began started after Karnataka IT Minister Priyank Kharge claimed there was evidence of vote-deletion attempts.

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