Poll Survey Withdrawn
Bengaluru
The Karnataka Congress government has withdrawn a Lok Sabha election survey from its official website following sharp criticism from its own leaders over its findings and release timing. The report, prepared in August 2025 by the Karnataka Monitoring and Evaluation Authority (KMEA) and recently made public, vanished from the portal amid the backlash.
The survey claimed that 84.55% of respondents believed elections in India were free and fair, and 83.61% trusted Electronic Voting Machines to deliver accurate results. Conducted by Mysuru-based nonprofit GRAAM ( Grassroots Research and Advocacy Movement) and commissioned by Chief Electoral Officer V Anbukumar, the survey covered 5,100 citizens. However, sources revealed that the KMEA has now decided to place the report under further “review and discussion.”
Senior Congress leader BK Hariprasad charged that the survey was done “only to sing paeans” about the Election Commission.
“A nonprofit founded by a man working in the Prime Minister’s Office did the survey,” he said.
He added, “The survey is intended to protect the EC’s image after the huge support Congress got for its December 14 protest against ‘Vote Chori’.”
Dismissing the survey results, Hariprasad said confidence in the Election Commission can return only when truly fair elections are conducted. He reminded that ₹10,000 was given to beneficiaries in Bihar ahead of elections and noted that the Assam Chief Minister has now promised ₹8,000 to women. Such practices, he argued, show that authorities have failed to curb electoral corruption.
IT/BT and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank said the survey was commissioned by the EC through the CEO. “The survey covered only 50 respondents per Assembly. Statistically weak, prone to wide sampling error, selection bias and not suitable for drawing conclusions,” Priyank said.
