The study said that overall voter ID awareness is quite high across all divisions, with 90.1% of the total respondents saying they are aware. | Photo credit: FILE PHOTO
BENGALURU:
A whopping 83.61% of respondents who voted in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka showed a strong level of trust in the electoral process and Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), according to a recent survey commissioned by the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Karnataka.
A majority of respondents across all divisions believed that elections in India are free and fair, with 91.31% agreeing, including 6.76% neutral.
The recent survey included 5,100 respondents in 34 constituencies covering 102 assembly constituencies in Bengaluru, Belagavi, Kalaburagi and Mysuru administrative divisions.
Commissioned by Chief Electoral Officer V. Anbukumar, the survey said the highest number of respondents who trusted EVMs was in Kalaburagi division – 83.24%. In this division, the Congress scored a clean sweep in the 2024 parliamentary polls. Confidence in the election process and EVMs was 70.67% in Mysuru division, 63.90% in Belagavi division and 63.67% in Bengaluru division.
High numbers voted
The study titled “Lok Sabha Elections 2024 — Evaluation of the Final Survey of Citizens’ Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP)” was conducted to assess the results of the Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) programme. It reflected strong Democratic engagement, with 95.75% of respondents saying they had voted. While awareness of electoral rolls was high (85.31%), understanding of online registration, home voting and complaint mechanisms remained limited.
The findings also revealed a high level of EPIC ownership (99.02%) and voter enrollment (98.18%), although there were gaps in awareness of the voter registration process, particularly in Bengaluru.
Digital platform usage among voters was low, with only 18.37% accessing election-related websites or apps. The most common mode of voter registration (47.21%) was through booth level officer (BLO) visits, it said.
Knowing EPIC
The overall awareness of the Electoral Identity Card (EPIC) is quite high across all divisions with 90.1% of the total respondents saying they are aware. Mysuru division leads with the highest awareness at 96.08%, followed by Kalaburagi division at 94.10% and Belagavi division at 93.33%. In contrast, Bengaluru division reports the lowest level of awareness at 81.89%, with a relatively higher proportion of respondents (10.06%) saying they are not aware and 8.06% not sure.
He said that the majority of respondents from all divisions believed that their understanding of suffrage was true, with a total of 84.78%.
A total of 95.75% of respondents said they would participate in the 2024 election. The primary factors influencing a voter’s choice were candidate merit, party reputation, and personal integrity. Long queues were reported as the most common problem in the voting process (51.21%).
Political reactions
In a post on X, BJP state president BY Vijayendra said the survey had “exposed” the “vote chori” campaign in the Congress. He called it a “direct blow to @RahulGandhi” who, unable to accept @INCIndia’s repeated electoral failures, launched a “reckless campaign challenging the EC”.
However, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah took to X to refute these claims. In a six-point response pointing to various factors, including the administrative purpose of the survey, its timing and sample size, he said: “In the last 24 hours, an Election Commission survey has been selectively used to create a misleading narrative – suggesting that serious concerns about electoral malpractice raised by Rahul Gandhi are somehow belied. He said that “a limited pre-event administrative inquiry cannot bury criminal evidence, indictments or unanswered questions”.
In a press conference, Congress leader BK Hariprasad said the survey was commissioned through government-linked agencies and not an independent constitutional or judicial body.
“The Election Commission is at the lowest level in terms of its credibility. So they want to build their image…If the Election Commission wants to improve or build its image, it should be transparent. It should be impartial. It should listen to political parties or election representatives…,” he told reporters here.
Published – 02 Jan 2026 19:31 IST
