Overview
- The Evaluation of Endline KAP survey, entrusted to the Karnataka Monitoring & Evaluation Authority through the Chief Electoral Officer, covered 5,100 respondents across 102 Assembly constituencies after the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
- Overall, 83.61% of respondents said EVMs are trustworthy and large majorities viewed elections as free and fair, with trust highest in Kalaburagi and the most neutral responses concentrated in Bengaluru.
- Despite broad confidence in EVMs, the study recorded persistent integrity concerns, including 44.90% perceiving rising influence of money and 16.33% reporting inducement attempts, led by government scheme benefits and job promises.
- BJP figures, including R Ashok and Shehzad Poonawalla, cited the report as a repudiation of Rahul Gandhi’s allegations on EVM manipulation and electoral credibility.
- Congress minister Priyank Kharge questioned the survey’s sanction and who conducted it, while the Karnataka government’s plan to use ballot papers for local-body elections remains on the table.