 "Trump claims USAID funding in India was to get 'someone else elected'")
US President Donald Trump has once again raised concerns over the Biden administration's decision to allocate $21 million to India for "voter turnout," suggesting it may have been an attempt to influence the election outcome.
"Why do we need to spend $21 million on voter turnout in India? I guess they were trying to get somebody else elected. We have got to tell the Indian Government... This is a total breakthrough," he stated during a summit in Miami on Thursday.
His comments followed a disclosure by the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an agency headed by billionaire Elon Musk, which revealed that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) had allocated $21 million to support "voter turnout" efforts in India.
DOGE, established as a cost-cutting initiative in Washington under Trump, published a list on February 16 detailing where "US taxpayer dollars were going to be spent." Among the listed expenditures was "$21M for voter turnout in India," with the agency noting that all such expenses had been revoked.
Additionally, DOGE highlighted that $29 million had been designated for "strengthening the political landscape in Bangladesh" — a country that faced political unrest last year amid accusations of US interference in the removal of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Another $39 million was earmarked for "fiscal federalism" and "biodiversity conservation" in Nepal, alongside other international funding initiatives.
"Over the past month, we have effectively eliminated the USAID, which was funding much of this lunacy," Trump declared during his speech in Miami.
"In less than a single month, DOGE has already saved over $55 billion - and we're just getting started... We will rapidly grow our economy by dramatically shrinking the federal government," he added.
Earlier, on Wednesday (February 19), Trump reiterated his stance on the issue and questioned why taxpayer funds from the US were being directed toward India's voter participation efforts.
"Why are we giving $21 million to India? They got a lot more money. They are one of the highest taxing countries in the world in terms of us; we can hardly get in there because their tariffs are so high. I have a lot of respect for India and their Prime Minister, but giving $21 million for voter turnout? In India? What about voter turnout here?" he said at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.
BJP's response to USAID's 'India voter turnout'
Following DOGE’s revelation regarding USAID’s funding, India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) criticised the opposition party, Congress, over the $21 million allocation, arguing that it amounted to foreign intervention in India's electoral system.
"Who gains from this? Not the ruling party (the BJP) for sure!" BJP leader Amit Malviya remarked. He also accused international organizations of attempting to infiltrate Indian institutions and linked the initiative to broader foreign influence.
Malviya further slammed Hungarian-born US financier George Soros, frequently accused by right-wing political figures globally of meddling in domestic affairs through his Open Society Foundations.
"Once again, it is George Soros, a known associate of the Congress party and the Gandhis, whose shadow looms over our electoral process," Malviya claimed.
Additionally, he pointed to a contentious 2012 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Election Commission of India and The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), an organisation linked to Soros's Open Society Foundation, as further evidence of foreign influence in India's electoral framework.