DOGE nixes $21 million US grant to increase India's 'voter turnout'

In its continuing crackdown on United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded projects, the billionaire Elon Musk-led US government’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) announced on Sunday morning (India time) that it has cancelled American assistance of $21 million intended for increasing “voter turnout in India”.

 

The project in India was one of several across the world, including in Nepal and Bangladesh, funded by the Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening (CEPPS). The organisation, founded in 1995, is in turn funded by USAID. In its post on X, DOGE said that CEPPS’ funding worth $486 million for projects across the world stands cancelled.

 

According to its website, CEPPS is a not-for-profit organisation that pools the expertise of three international organisations: National Democratic Institute, International Republican Institute, and International Foundation for Electoral Systems. It aims to support elections and political transitions globally.

 

CEPPS was established in 1995 and is funded by the Global Elections and Political Transitions programme at USAID. The details of its projects funded in India were unavailable, as the CEPPS website noted that it is being updated.

 

In a post on X, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Amit Malviya said the $21 million for voter turnout in India is “definitely external interference in India’s electoral process”.

 

“Who gains from this? Not the ruling party for sure,” he said. Malviya, who heads the BJP’s national information and technology department, said that in 2012, under the leadership of S Y Quraishi, the Election Commission of India (ECI) signed a memorandum of understanding with the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, which he said was linked to investor “George Soros’ Open Society Foundations, primarily funded by USAID”.

 

“Once again, it is Soros, a known associate of the Congress party and the Gandhis, whose shadow looms over our electoral process,” Malviya said.

 

“Ironically, those questioning the transparent and inclusive process of appointing India’s Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) — a first in our democracy, where previously the prime minister (PM) alone made the decision — had no hesitation in handing over the entire ECI to foreign operators,” Malviya said, referencing Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s comments on the appointment process for the next CEC.

 

The selection panel, comprising the PM, home minister, and Gandhi, is scheduled to meet on Monday. Malviya said it “is becoming increasingly evident that the Congress-led United United Progressive Alliance systematically enabled the infiltration of India’s institutions by forces opposed to the nation’s interests — those who seek to weaken India at every opportunity”.

 

Sanjeev Sanyal, member of the PM’s Economic Advisory Council, posted on X that he would love to find out who received the money in India, Nepal, and Bangladesh. “USAID is the biggest scam in human history,” he said.

 

At the PM’s joint press conference with US President Donald Trump in Washington on Friday, when asked whether USAID influenced the 2020 US presidential elections and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Trump said it (USAID) could have had a role in Indian elections, and bad things happened in 2020 and 2024, but the 2024 US polls were too big to rig. He added that the US was looking at implementing a system of one-day voting, voter identity cards, and paper ballots. During his recent US visit, PM Narendra Modi had a meeting with Musk.

 

The funding cancelled under the category of elections and strengthening political processes includes $22 million for “inclusive and participatory political processes” in Moldova, $21 million for “voter turnout in India”, $29 million for “strengthening the political landscape in Bangladesh”, $20 million for “fiscal federalism” in Nepal, $19 million for “biodiversity conservation” in Nepal, and $47 million for “improving learning outcomes in Asia”, among others.

 

The post also mentioned the scrapping of $10 million for a project in Mozambique for “voluntary medical male circumcision”, $9.7 million for UC Berkeley to develop “a cohort of Cambodian youth with enterprise-driven skills”, $2.3 million for “strengthening independent voices in Cambodia”, $32 million for the Prague Civil Society Centre, $40 million for a “gender equality and women empowerment hub”, and $14 million for “improving public procurement” in Serbia.