Most voters in Karnataka believe elections are free and fair, says Study

Bengaluru, Jan 1 (PTI) A study by the Karnataka government body has found that the majority of respondents across all four administrative divisions in the state believe that elections in India are conducted freely and fairly and that EVM's deliver accurate results.

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 by Karnataka Monitoring and Evaluation Authority (KMEA).

The survey report dated August 2025 was recently made public, sources said.

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.

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.

The findings assume significance amid the Congress' campaign against ‘vote chori’ (vote theft), led by top party leader Rahul Gandhi, targeting the ruling BJP-led government at the Centre and the Election Commission of India.

Also, they come at a time the Karnataka government has proposed holding all the future panchayat and urban local body polls in the state using ballot paper, citing alleged erosion of public confidence in Electronic Voting Machines (EVM).

According to the report, 91.31 per cent of respondents across divisions agreed that elections in India are conducted freely and fairly, including 6.76 per cent who expressed neutral views.

"Confidence was strongest in Kalaburagi division, where 84.67 per cent agreed and 10.19 per cent strongly agreed, followed by Belagavi division with 69.62 per cent agreeing and 19.24 per cent strongly agreeing. Mysuru division also showed high confidence, with 72.08 per cent agreeing and 15.08 per cent strongly agreeing," it said.

The Bengaluru division reported the lowest level of strong agreement at 7.17 per cent, though a substantial 67.11 per cent still agreed, the study said adding "neutral opinions were highest in the Bengaluru division at 12.50 per cent, compared to lower proportions in other divisions." Disagreement was marginally higher in the Bengaluru division, with 9.67 per cent disagreeing and 3.56 per cent strongly disagreeing, though it remained very low in Kalaburagi division.

As per the study, a large majority of respondents across all divisions trust EVMs, with 69.39 per cent agreeing and 14.22 per cent strongly agreeing overall that EVMs deliver accurate results.

"Trust was highest in Kalaburagi division, where 83.24 per cent agreed and 11.24 per cent strongly agreed, followed by Mysuru division with 70.67 per cent agreeing and 17.92 per cent strongly agreeing. The Belagavi division also showed strong confidence, with 63.90 per cent agreeing and 21.43 per cent strongly agreeing," it added.

The Bengaluru division reported the lowest strong agreement at 9.28 per cent, though 63.67 per cent still agreed, the report added.

"Neutral opinions were highest in the Bengaluru division at 15.67 per cent, compared to much lower proportions in the other divisions." Disagreement was relatively low overall at 8.75 per cent, but slightly higher in Belagavi and Bengaluru divisions compared to Kalaburagi and Mysuru divisions, it added.

Noting that about 50 per cent of the respondents were women, the report said that opinions varied across divisions on whether women should consult male members or elders before voting in elections.

"Overall, 34.57 per cent agreed and 3.14 per cent strongly agreed with this view, while a larger proportion disagreed (37.86 per cent) or strongly disagreed (13.78 per cent)," it said.

The study also highlighted concerns about the influence of money in elections, with 44.90 per cent respondents agreeing that it is increasing and 4.65 per cent strongly agreeing overall.

On inducements to influence voting across divisions, 16.33 per cent of respondents reported experiencing such attempts.

It said, "among 833 respondents who said inducements to influence voting that government scheme benefits were the most common inducement overall, accounting for 42.26 per cent of all inducements, and job promises were the second most frequent inducement, making up 34.09 per cent." PTI KSU ROH