Cong questions survey on EVM's accuracy, BJP calls it 'direct blow' to 'Vote Chori' narrative
Bengaluru (PTI): The ruling Congress in Karnataka on Friday questioned the credibility of the survey that found a majority of citizens in the state believe elections in India are conducted freely and fairly and that EVM's deliver accurate results.
The opposition BJP, however, termed the report as a "direct blow" to Rahul Gandhi's 'Vote theft' narrative.
The findings are part of a study titled “Lok Sabha Elections 2024 – Evaluation of Endline Survey of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) of Citizens”, published for Karnataka Monitoring and Evaluation Authority (KMEA). The survey report dated August 2025 was recently made public.
The KMEA functions under the Planning, Programme Monitoring and Statistics Department and is the state’s apex institution for promoting evidence-based policymaking. The study was commissioned to assess the impact of the Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) programme implemented by the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer Karnataka.
The survey was carried out in May 2025 by Mysuru-based GRAAM (Grassroots Research and Advocacy Movement).
The findings come at a time when the Congress is running a campaign on alleged electoral irregularities, led by senior party leader Rahul Gandhi.
They also emerge as the Karnataka government has proposed conducting all future panchayat and urban local body elections in the State using ballot papers, citing an alleged erosion of public confidence in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
"Survey commissioned by the Election Commission through the State Chief Electoral Officer. Survey conducted by a Modi’s man who works in the PMO and has authored a lavish tribute to the PM," Karnataka Minister for IT/BT Priyank Kharge said in a post on 'X', in an apparent reference to GRAAM founder R Balasubramaniam.
Pointing out that the survey was conducted in May 2025, while detailed vote chori exposé by the Congress came out in August 2025, he said, "Survey covered only 50 respondents per Assembly. Statistically weak, prone to wide sampling error and selection bias and not suitable for drawing conclusions."
Accusing the BJP of "falsely peddling" the survey as “State Government survey”, he said, "interestingly, BJP is silent on the Aland Vote Chori charge sheet which has named former BJP MLA as A1 (accused number 1)."
Senior Congress leader and MLC B K Hariprasad mentioned that GRAAM's survey claimed that a majority percent of people in Karnataka have accepted the EVM system.
According to him, the survey appears to be pleasing or supporting the Election Commission of India.
The survey framing is pro ECI. The questions are framed around belief and perception, not verifiable audit, transparency, or accountability.
"(There is ) no serious probing on: EVM malfunction complaints VVPAT mismatch concerns Demand for 100 per cent VVPAT counting This conveniently supports the ECI’s long-standing position that EVMs are beyond doubt," he said in a statement.
The survey was publicised amid national debate on EVM credibility, Hariprasad said adding it comes at a time when opposition parties are raising concerns on electoral integrity, Courts are hearing petitions on EVM-VVPAT verification.
"The timing makes it appear like a defensive narrative-building exercise for ECI. GRAAM is founded by R Balasubramaniam who is a member of Modi’s think tank and has written a Modimala."
"The GRAAM survey does not strengthen democracy, does not address transparency concerns, functions as a perception-management report, it helps the Election Commission defend itself, instead of encouraging reforms. Democracy does not survive on manufactured consent or perception surveys," he added.
Reacting to the survey report, state BJP President B Y Vijayendra said Congress’ “Vote Chori” stands exposed once again.
"The survey report published by the Government of Karnataka clearly shows that a decisive majority of our people believe elections in India are conducted freely and fairly. This is a direct blow to Rahul Gandhi, who, unable to accept Congress repeated electoral failures, chose to invent the “Vote Chori” narrative and launch a reckless campaign casting doubts on the Election Commission. In doing so, he repeatedly attempted to mislead the public and weaken trust in a constitutional institution of impeccable repute," he posted on 'X.
In Karnataka, this insecurity translated into governance decisions, as the Siddaramaiah led government, eager to appease its high command, announced that local body elections would be conducted using ballot papers, a regressive move that pulls the State backwards, undoing years of technological progress and hard-earned public confidence in electronic voting, he said.
As per the survey report, the majority of respondents across all divisions believe that elections in India are conducted freely and fairly, with 91.31 per cent agreeing, which includes 6.76 per cent neutral.
It also said a large majority of respondents trust that Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) provide accurate results, with 69.39 per cent agreeing and 14.22 per cent strongly agreeing overall.
A total of 5,100 respondents were surveyed across 102 assembly constituencies, covering all 34 election districts in Karnataka, representing rural, urban, and reserved constituencies across the state’s four divisions -- Bengaluru, Belagavi, Kalaburagi and Mysuru.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
SC appointed CEC member visits Bannerghatta National Park over plea against reduction of ESZ
_vb_74.jpeg)
Bengaluru (PTI): A member of the Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee on Friday visited Bannerghatta National Park in connection with a petition challenging the reduction of the Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) around the protected area.
CEC member Chandra Prakash Goyal visited the park and held meetings with forest department officials to assess the potential ecological impact of the revised ESZ notification.
A senior official from the forest department said that Goyal visited the park and heard concerns of the parties involved, who also made presentations before him.
The petition filed by K. Belliappa and others in May 2025, contended that the notification reducing the ESZ, excluded ecologically sensitive areas around established elephant corridors, thereby weakening wildlife protection.
It also argued that the application of a uniform one-km ESZ norm for Bannerghatta National Park failed to take into account site-specific ecological requirements.
Speaking to reporters here, CEC member Goyal said this is a very important national park for Karnataka, particularly in the context of Bengaluru, as it lies along one side of the city. Like all national parks, it has an eco-sensitive zone (ESZ).
"There was a petition before the Supreme Court concerning variations between the ESZ notifications issued in 2016 and the final notification published in 2020. The petition contends that the reduction in the ESZ area in the 2020 notification is detrimental to wildlife, especially elephants, and that needs to be looked into," he said.
According to him, the matter has now been referred to the Central Empowered Committee (CEC), of which he is a member, to submit a report to the Supreme Court.
"My visit is primarily for compiling data and figures before finalising and submitting the particular report."
Responding to a question on the differences between the 2016 and 2020 notifications, he said, "The basic difference is that the width of the buffer zone was reduced from 4.5 km to 1 km, even 100 meters from the boundary of the national park in some portions. It has been reduced."
While the earlier notification covered ESZ about 290 square kilometres, the revised notification covers around 168 square kilometres. That is the key difference," he explained.
He further said that according to the petitioners, some ecologically important patches have been left out.
Goyal noted that reports submitted to the SC are prepared strictly based on data and technical details to support the committee’s recommendations.
"The case is scheduled to come up for hearing on January 7, and the report will be submitted before that," he said.
Addressing allegations that the reduction of the ESZ has facilitated the development of several resorts and layouts, including government housing layouts developed by the Karnataka Housing Development Board, he said these claims were mentioned in the briefing. However, it would be important to examine whether such developments took place before or after the 2020 notification, as that would change the nature of the issue.
On land acquisition concerns raised by farmers, who claimed that since 2013 they have been under pressure from the government to surrender their land, claiming a premeditated and organised effort to acquire land adjacent to the forest, he said, “We will look into these allegations. The panel will place its recommendations before the court. The government of Karnataka and the petitioners will also present their views, and we will try our best to ensure the report has sound ecological reasoning,” he said.
He also clarified that mining is banned within one kilometre of any national park or protected area. If any mining activity falls within that limit, it would be for the administration to take appropriate action.
_vb_49.jpeg)