Karnataka Survey: 91% Trust in EVMs, BJP's Shehzad Poonawalla Targets Rahul Gandhi

A political row has erupted over a Karnataka government survey revealing that 91.31% of citizens believe elections in India are free and fair. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National Spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla used the findings to attack Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, stating the report exposes his 'vote chori' (vote theft) narrative as a 'segment of imagination'. In a sharp rebuttal, Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge questioned the survey's neutrality, pointing out that the conducting agency, GRAAM, is founded by Dr R Balasubramaniam, a member of the Capacity Building Commission linked to the Prime Minister's Office. Kharge also highlighted the BJP's silence on the Aland vote theft charge sheet, where 'A1 is a former BJP MLA'. The survey, covering 5,100 respondents across 102 constituencies, comes amid the state government's proposal to use ballot papers for local polls.