For nearly a year now, Rahul Gandhi’s favourite political alibi has been the Electronic Voting Machine. Whenever electoral arithmetic refuses to flatter the Congress, the blame is swiftly transferred to “vote chori”, shadowy manipulation, or institutional capture. Yet, every so often, reality intrudes. The latest Karnataka-wide survey on voting preferences has done exactly that—puncturing the balloon of conspiracy with cold, inconvenient data. According to the survey, an overwhelming 83 per cent of respondents expressed confidence in EVMs, firmly rejecting a return to paper ballots. Only a marginal minority voiced discomfort or nostalgia for the old system. This is not a statistical footnote; it is a decisive public endorsement. In one stroke, it dismantles the moral high ground Rahul Gandhi has tried to occupy with his repeated insinuations that Indian elections are compromised. The timing could not be worse for Congress. Karnataka is not an opposition-ruled state; it is governed by the very party crying foul. If EVMs were indeed instruments of mass-scale fraud, the logical expectation would be widespread distrust in a Congress-ruled state. Instead, the people have delivered a verdict that exposes the hollowness of the allegation. When voters themselves reject the premise of “vote chori”, the accusation collapses under its own weight. What followed the survey was even more revealing. Rather than introspection, Congress leaders chose confusion. Mallikarjun Kharge’s son and a member of Siddaramaiah’s cabinet, Priyank Kharge, in an astonishing display of administrative ignorance, attempted to distance the state government by claiming that the survey was conducted by the Election Commission of India and not the Karnataka government. The implication—predictably—was of some hidden central manipulation. This argument fails on basic constitutional literacy. The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of a state is a cadre officer designated under the Election Commission but functions within the state’s administrative framework. The CEO does not parachute in from Delhi; he or she operates from the state secretariat, coordinating with the state machinery. To suggest that the Karnataka government had no institutional proximity or awareness of such a survey is either disingenuous or uninformed. Neither reflects well on a party that claims to be the custodian of constitutional values.
More importantly, the Congress’s selective distrust of institutions has become impossible to ignore. EVMs are questioned only when the party loses. When it wins—be it Karnataka in 2023 or Telangana later—EVMs suddenly become trustworthy, transparent, even praiseworthy. The same machines, the same protocols, the same Election Commission. This opportunistic scepticism is not democratic vigilance; it is political convenience. Facts further weaken the Congress narrative. India has used EVMs nationwide for over two decades. More than one billion votes have been cast across hundreds of elections, including repeated transfers of power at the Centre and in states. Opposition parties—from the Left Front to regional satraps—have won handsomely using the same machines. Even the Congress itself formed the UPA government twice through EVM-based elections. Were those victories also products of “vote chori”? The answer is obvious, which is why the allegation is no longer persuasive—it sounds petulant. Rahul Gandhi’s refusal to accept electoral defeat as a verdict on leadership, credibility, and governance has reduced his criticism to a ritual complaint. When people do not vote for Congress, it must be the machine. When allies desert, it must be coercion. When narratives fail, institutions become targets. The Karnataka survey is therefore not merely about EVMs; it is about political accountability. It shows that voters are far more mature than the politicians who claim to represent them. Indians understand that elections are imperfect but not fraudulent by default. They trust the process even when they punish parties at the ballot box. At its core, the “vote chori” campaign is not about electoral reform. It is about frustration—over lost credibility, shrinking relevance, and an inability to reconnect with public aspirations. Until the Congress confronts this uncomfortable truth, it will keep searching for conspiracies instead of solutions. And the voters, as Karnataka has shown, will keep seeing through it.
