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Last Updated:<\/span>January 02, 2026, 19:57 IST<\/time><\/p>\nThe Karnataka CM questioned reliability of the survey due to its limited sample size. The survey covered 5,100 respondents in Karnataka, a state with over 5.3 crore adult voters.<\/h2>\n\n<\/p>\nKarnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah (Photo Credits: X)<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nKarnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said that an Election Commission survey is being misused to create a misleading narrative against allegations of electoral malpractice raised by Rahul Gandhi.<\/p>\nIn a post on X, he argued that the survey, now being cited by sections of the media, does not address the concerns being raised and cannot be used to discredit them.<\/p>\nSiddaramaiah said the survey in question was not a political opinion poll. Instead, it was an end-line administrative assessment carried out under the SVEEP voter awareness programme. Commissioned by the Election Commission of India, the survey was conducted in May 2025 to measure voter education, not to verify the integrity of elections or respond to allegations raised later.<\/p>\nHe also pointed to the timing of the survey. According to him, the exercise was completed months before Rahul Gandhi raised concerns in August 2025 about organised manipulation of voter lists, referred to as \u201cVote Chori”. Using data collected before these allegations emerged to dismiss later evidence, he said, was misleading.<\/p>\n\u201cFirst, the nature of the survey itself must be understood. This was not a political opinion poll. It was an end-line administrative evaluation of voter awareness under SVEEP programmes, commissioned by the Election Commission of India and conducted in May 2025. Its purpose was to assess voter education efforts \u2013 not to certify the integrity of electoral processes or respond to allegations that surfaced months later. An awareness survey cannot be twisted into a certificate of electoral integrity,” he said.<\/p>\nThe Karnataka CM questioned the reliability of the survey due to its limited sample size. The survey covered 5,100 respondents in Karnataka, a state with over 5.3 crore adult voters.<\/p>\nThis, the CM said, represents less than 0.01 per cent of the electorate.<\/p>\nHe stated that the survey was conducted by an NGO, GRAAM, founded by Dr R Balasubramaniam, who currently holds a Union government-appointed position and authored a book in 2024 praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Siddaramaiah said this aspect has been ignored in media reports.<\/p>\n\n\nOver the last 24 hours, an Election Commission survey has been selectively used to manufacture a misleading narrative \u2013 suggesting that serious concerns about electoral malpractice raised by Shri @RahulGandhi<\/a> are somehow \u201cdisproved”. This claim collapses the moment the survey is\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/HOF1ZsunQg<\/a>\u2014 Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) January 2, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\nHe clarified that Rahul Gandhi has not questioned democracy or the electoral process itself, instead, he has sought transparency on issues such as voter roll access, safeguards against surveillance, scrutiny of EVMs, and the independence of the Election Commissioner appointment process.<\/p>\n\u201cRahul Gandhi\u2019s position has been deliberately distorted. He has not questioned democracy or elections \u2013 he has sought basic transparency from the Election Commission on voter roll access, surveillance safeguards, EVM scrutiny, and the independence of the Election Commissioner appointment process \u2013 questions that remain unanswered,” he said.<\/p>\n\u201cFinally, Vote Chori is not a slogan. It is a chargesheet. In Aland, a Karnataka Police SIT has filed a 22,000-page chargesheet naming seven accused \u2013 including a former BJP MLA \u2013 for attempting to illegally delete 5,994 genuine voters using OTP bypass technology. This investigation was conducted by our government despite winning the seat \u2013 and it forced systemic changes by the Election Commission itself,” added Siddaramaiah.<\/p>\nCiting a Karnataka Police SIT investigation in Aland, Siddaramaiah said a 22,000-page chargesheet had already been filed in a voter deletion case. He argued that such evidence cannot be brushed aside using a limited administrative survey.<\/p>\nLocation :<\/span><\/p>\nKarnataka, India, India<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\nFirst Published:<\/span><\/p>\n\nJanuary 02, 2026, 19:57 IST<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nNews<\/a> politics<\/a> \u2018Not A Poll Integrity Certificate\u2019: Siddaramaiah Flags Misuse Of EC Survey After BJP’s Ire<\/span><\/div>\n\n\nDisclaimer: Comments reflect users\u2019 views, not News18\u2019s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use<\/a> and Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nRead More<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah (Photo Credits: X)<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said that an Election Commission survey is being misused to create a misleading narrative against allegations of electoral malpractice raised by Rahul Gandhi.<\/p>\n
In a post on X, he argued that the survey, now being cited by sections of the media, does not address the concerns being raised and cannot be used to discredit them.<\/p>\n
Siddaramaiah said the survey in question was not a political opinion poll. Instead, it was an end-line administrative assessment carried out under the SVEEP voter awareness programme. Commissioned by the Election Commission of India, the survey was conducted in May 2025 to measure voter education, not to verify the integrity of elections or respond to allegations raised later.<\/p>\n
He also pointed to the timing of the survey. According to him, the exercise was completed months before Rahul Gandhi raised concerns in August 2025 about organised manipulation of voter lists, referred to as \u201cVote Chori”. Using data collected before these allegations emerged to dismiss later evidence, he said, was misleading.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst, the nature of the survey itself must be understood. This was not a political opinion poll. It was an end-line administrative evaluation of voter awareness under SVEEP programmes, commissioned by the Election Commission of India and conducted in May 2025. Its purpose was to assess voter education efforts \u2013 not to certify the integrity of electoral processes or respond to allegations that surfaced months later. An awareness survey cannot be twisted into a certificate of electoral integrity,” he said.<\/p>\n
The Karnataka CM questioned the reliability of the survey due to its limited sample size. The survey covered 5,100 respondents in Karnataka, a state with over 5.3 crore adult voters.<\/p>\n
This, the CM said, represents less than 0.01 per cent of the electorate.<\/p>\n
He stated that the survey was conducted by an NGO, GRAAM, founded by Dr R Balasubramaniam, who currently holds a Union government-appointed position and authored a book in 2024 praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Siddaramaiah said this aspect has been ignored in media reports.<\/p>\n
\nOver the last 24 hours, an Election Commission survey has been selectively used to manufacture a misleading narrative \u2013 suggesting that serious concerns about electoral malpractice raised by Shri @RahulGandhi<\/a> are somehow \u201cdisproved”. This claim collapses the moment the survey is\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/HOF1ZsunQg<\/a>\u2014 Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) January 2, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\nHe clarified that Rahul Gandhi has not questioned democracy or the electoral process itself, instead, he has sought transparency on issues such as voter roll access, safeguards against surveillance, scrutiny of EVMs, and the independence of the Election Commissioner appointment process.<\/p>\n\u201cRahul Gandhi\u2019s position has been deliberately distorted. He has not questioned democracy or elections \u2013 he has sought basic transparency from the Election Commission on voter roll access, surveillance safeguards, EVM scrutiny, and the independence of the Election Commissioner appointment process \u2013 questions that remain unanswered,” he said.<\/p>\n\u201cFinally, Vote Chori is not a slogan. It is a chargesheet. In Aland, a Karnataka Police SIT has filed a 22,000-page chargesheet naming seven accused \u2013 including a former BJP MLA \u2013 for attempting to illegally delete 5,994 genuine voters using OTP bypass technology. This investigation was conducted by our government despite winning the seat \u2013 and it forced systemic changes by the Election Commission itself,” added Siddaramaiah.<\/p>\nCiting a Karnataka Police SIT investigation in Aland, Siddaramaiah said a 22,000-page chargesheet had already been filed in a voter deletion case. He argued that such evidence cannot be brushed aside using a limited administrative survey.<\/p>\nLocation :<\/span><\/p>\nKarnataka, India, India<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\nFirst Published:<\/span><\/p>\n\nJanuary 02, 2026, 19:57 IST<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nNews<\/a> politics<\/a> \u2018Not A Poll Integrity Certificate\u2019: Siddaramaiah Flags Misuse Of EC Survey After BJP’s Ire<\/span><\/div>\n\n\nDisclaimer: Comments reflect users\u2019 views, not News18\u2019s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use<\/a> and Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nRead More<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Over the last 24 hours, an Election Commission survey has been selectively used to manufacture a misleading narrative \u2013 suggesting that serious concerns about electoral malpractice raised by Shri @RahulGandhi<\/a> are somehow \u201cdisproved”. This claim collapses the moment the survey is\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/HOF1ZsunQg<\/a>\u2014 Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) January 2, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\nHe clarified that Rahul Gandhi has not questioned democracy or the electoral process itself, instead, he has sought transparency on issues such as voter roll access, safeguards against surveillance, scrutiny of EVMs, and the independence of the Election Commissioner appointment process.<\/p>\n\u201cRahul Gandhi\u2019s position has been deliberately distorted. He has not questioned democracy or elections \u2013 he has sought basic transparency from the Election Commission on voter roll access, surveillance safeguards, EVM scrutiny, and the independence of the Election Commissioner appointment process \u2013 questions that remain unanswered,” he said.<\/p>\n\u201cFinally, Vote Chori is not a slogan. It is a chargesheet. In Aland, a Karnataka Police SIT has filed a 22,000-page chargesheet naming seven accused \u2013 including a former BJP MLA \u2013 for attempting to illegally delete 5,994 genuine voters using OTP bypass technology. This investigation was conducted by our government despite winning the seat \u2013 and it forced systemic changes by the Election Commission itself,” added Siddaramaiah.<\/p>\nCiting a Karnataka Police SIT investigation in Aland, Siddaramaiah said a 22,000-page chargesheet had already been filed in a voter deletion case. He argued that such evidence cannot be brushed aside using a limited administrative survey.<\/p>\nLocation :<\/span><\/p>\nKarnataka, India, India<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\nFirst Published:<\/span><\/p>\n\nJanuary 02, 2026, 19:57 IST<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nNews<\/a> politics<\/a> \u2018Not A Poll Integrity Certificate\u2019: Siddaramaiah Flags Misuse Of EC Survey After BJP’s Ire<\/span><\/div>\n\n\nDisclaimer: Comments reflect users\u2019 views, not News18\u2019s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use<\/a> and Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nRead More<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
He clarified that Rahul Gandhi has not questioned democracy or the electoral process itself, instead, he has sought transparency on issues such as voter roll access, safeguards against surveillance, scrutiny of EVMs, and the independence of the Election Commissioner appointment process.<\/p>\n
\u201cRahul Gandhi\u2019s position has been deliberately distorted. He has not questioned democracy or elections \u2013 he has sought basic transparency from the Election Commission on voter roll access, surveillance safeguards, EVM scrutiny, and the independence of the Election Commissioner appointment process \u2013 questions that remain unanswered,” he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFinally, Vote Chori is not a slogan. It is a chargesheet. In Aland, a Karnataka Police SIT has filed a 22,000-page chargesheet naming seven accused \u2013 including a former BJP MLA \u2013 for attempting to illegally delete 5,994 genuine voters using OTP bypass technology. This investigation was conducted by our government despite winning the seat \u2013 and it forced systemic changes by the Election Commission itself,” added Siddaramaiah.<\/p>\n
Citing a Karnataka Police SIT investigation in Aland, Siddaramaiah said a 22,000-page chargesheet had already been filed in a voter deletion case. He argued that such evidence cannot be brushed aside using a limited administrative survey.<\/p>\n
Karnataka, India, India<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\nFirst Published:<\/span><\/p>\n\nJanuary 02, 2026, 19:57 IST<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nNews<\/a> politics<\/a> \u2018Not A Poll Integrity Certificate\u2019: Siddaramaiah Flags Misuse Of EC Survey After BJP’s Ire<\/span><\/div>\n\n\nDisclaimer: Comments reflect users\u2019 views, not News18\u2019s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use<\/a> and Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nRead More<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
January 02, 2026, 19:57 IST<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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