The USAID controversy regarding Indian elections centers on claims that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) allocated $21 million to influence voter turnout in India, sparking debates about potential foreign interference in India’s electoral process. This issue gained prominence in February 2025, following statements from U.S. President Donald Trump and actions by the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which announced the cancellation of various USAID grants, including the $21 million purportedly intended for India.
Trump repeatedly questioned the purpose of this funding, suggesting it was an attempt by the previous Biden administration to “get somebody else elected” in India’s 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Speaking at events like the FII Priority Summit in Miami on February 20, 2025, he remarked, “Why do we need to spend $21 million on voter turnout in India? I guess they were trying to get somebody else elected.” These statements fueled speculation and political backlash in both the U.S. and India.
In India, the controversy triggered a sharp political divide. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seized on Trump’s remarks, with leaders like Amit Malviya asserting that the funding represented “external interference” in India’s electoral process, potentially benefiting opposition parties like Congress during the Congress-led UPA era. Malviya pointed to a 2012 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES)—a USAID-funded entity within the Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening (CEPPS)—as evidence of foreign influence. He linked IFES to George Soros’s Open Society Foundations, amplifying suspicions of an agenda against the ruling BJP. Other BJP figures, like Rajeev Chandrasekhar, suggested the funds might have supported protests aimed at undermining Indian democracy.
Conversely, the Congress party dismissed Trump’s claims as baseless, with leaders like Pawan Khera citing an Indian Express investigation that found no USAID election-related funding for India since 2008. The report clarified that the $21 million was sanctioned in 2022 for a voter participation project in Bangladesh, not India, under the “Amar Vote Amar” initiative. Congress accused the BJP of spreading misinformation and highlighted the party’s own history of external engagements while in opposition.
The Indian government, through the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), responded cautiously on February 21, 2025, calling the allegations “deeply troubling” and confirming that relevant agencies were investigating. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal emphasized concerns about foreign interference but refrained from definitive conclusions pending further review. Former Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi, who oversaw the 2012 MoU, denied any financial dealings with USAID or IFES, stating the agreement was solely for training and collaboration, explicitly ruling out funding.
Adding complexity, some analyses suggest USAID’s broader activities in India—totaling $2.9 billion from 2001 to 2024—focused primarily on health and governance, with only $484,158 disbursed for election-related purposes between 2013 and 2018, far below the $21 million figure. Critics like economist Sanjeev Sanyal, a member of PM Modi’s Economic Advisory Council, labeled USAID a “scam” and demanded transparency on who received the alleged funds, though conclusive evidence remains elusive.
The controversy remains unresolved as of February 22, 2025, with conflicting narratives: one side alleging a deliberate attempt to sway Indian elections, the other arguing the funds were misattributed or misrepresented. The lack of detailed public records from USAID or CEPPS—whose website is currently inaccessible—leaves the true extent of any interference unclear, fueling ongoing political and diplomatic scrutiny.