In a fiery televised exchange, prominent psephologist Sanjay Kumar, Co-Director of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), admitted that his organization has accepted foreign funding from Western agencies, including the controversial Ford Foundation. The admission came under intense questioning from Republic TV’s Arnab Goswami, who was investigating how erroneous data from Kumar was used by the Congress party to allege systematic “vote theft” and discredit the Election Commission of India (ECI).

The broadcast revelation directly ties CSDS to a larger, recently exposed network of US-government-funded NGOs, specifically the Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening (CEPPS), which had a $21 million program to influence “voter turnout” in India before it was abruptly cancelled and scrubbed from the internet.

“Yes, We Have Taken Foreign Funding”: The On-Air Admission

The confrontation began with Goswami challenging Kumar on his erroneous data analysis, which showed a discrepancy between votes cast and voter turnout in certain constituencies, a claim the ECI had already dismissed as “absurd” and based on a “miscalculation.” Kumar apologized, calling it a “big mistake” and not part of any conspiracy.

The interview then took a sharp turn when Goswami questioned the source of Kumar’s institutional funding.

Arnab Goswami: “Has the Ford Foundation given you money?”

Sanjay Kumar: “Long back… Yes, long back, we have.”

Arnab Goswami: “So you do receive foreign funding?”

Sanjay Kumar: “If there is a project which we are doing and if there is a funding for that project, we do get some funding for the project which we do.”

Goswami pressed further, listing other potential donors like the Hewlett Foundation, Dutch agencies, the Gates Foundation, and the International Development Research Center (IDRC) of Canada. While Kumar could not recall all, he confirmed receiving project-based grants from foreign entities.

Arnab Goswami takes CSDS’s Sanjay Kumar to the cleaners pic.twitter.com/FG9XJFpcfj

— Megh Updates (@MeghUpdates) August 19, 2025

Ford Foundation Funded CSDS

As claimed by Kumar on television, the CSDS website confirms the fact that they have received funding in the form of grants from Ford Foundation

The website reads, “The Centre was constituted as a society, funded largely by the Indian Council of Social Science Research. It received a major endowment from the Ford Foundation in 2000, and the Canadian agency IDRC (International Development Research Centre) identified CSDS as one of 15 select institutions world-wide that received support through the Think Tank Initiative, in two successive rounds of funding, 2009-2019.”

The Ford Foundation website states that Centre for the Study of Developing Societies has received 4 grants since 2006

Now let’s take a look at another funding received by CSDS that was reported earlier.

The CSDS-CEPPS-USAID Nexus: A Pattern of Foreign Influence

This on-air admission gives concrete, namesake evidence to a recent investigative report that exposed a deep-state plan to interfere in Indian elections. Our report during the USAID funding controversy details how:

A $21 million USAID program, managed by CEPPS and funded by the U.S. Department of State, was created to influence “voter turnout” in India. The program was cancelled and its online presence scrubbed after being exposed.

USAID paid $21 million to influence Indian elections by targeting voter turnout, says Mike Benz.

The award was piped thru the NGO named "Consortium for Elections & Political Process Strengthening".

I checked the grants. The US has piped billions of taxpayer funds to CEPPS… https://t.co/OFsMahaYp7 pic.twitter.com/KOoZSZlVgk

— Tapesh Yadav (@tapeshyadav_usa) February 15, 2025

CEPPS is a consortium comprising major American political NGOs and is a long-time vehicle for channeling U.S. taxpayer money to influence elections globally. It has historically partnered with organizations in India.

CSDS’s Lokniti programme is explicitly named as a “local partner” of CEPPS’s “Advancing Electoral Democracy in Asia” initiative. The same initiative partners with organizations like Bangladesh’s Odhikar.org, which has accused the Sheikh Hasina government of killings.

The investigation also revealed a 2012 MoU between the Election Commission of India (under then-CEC S.Y. Quraishi) and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), a core member of CEPPS.

This MoU allowed for the exchange of data and research; a relationship critics say could provide foreign actors with a “gold mine” of sensitive Indian voter data.

Political Fallout: Erroneous Data and a Coordinated Narrative

The timing of Kumar’s data error is seen by many as suspicious. His incorrect figures were immediately seized upon by Congress leaders to build a narrative of a compromised election and “vote chori” (vote theft), creating significant political tension.

While Kumar has apologized and deleted the tweet, he agreed that the Congress party, which amplified his faulty data, should also issue an apology. He stated, “I think Congress party should have also said that this data… which they have used is wrong because they have used my data.”

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The post Lokniti-CSDS Co-Director Sanjay Kumar Admits Foreign Funding From Ford Foundation; Did USAID Also Fund Them? appeared first on The Commune.

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the United States recently published a post on X, revealing a list of funding initiatives that were stopped or canceled. Among these, one particular allocation has drawn significant attention in India.

According to DOGE’s post, $486 million was given to the Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening (CEPPS), with $21 million specifically allocated for ‘voter turnout’ in India—equivalent to ₹182 crores as per today’s exchange rate.

On 16 February 2025, DOGE posted, “US taxpayer dollars were going to be spent on the following items, all which have been cancelled: – $10M for “Mozambique voluntary medical male circumcision” – $9.7M for UC Berkeley to develop “a cohort of Cambodian youth with enterprise driven skills” – $2.3M for “strengthening independent voices in Cambodia” – $32M to the Prague Civil Society Centre – $40M for “gender equality and women empowerment hub” – $14M for “improving public procurement” in Serbia – $486M to the “Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening,” including $22M for “inclusive and participatory political process” in Moldova and $21M for voter turnout in India – $29M to “strenghening political landscape in Bangladesh” – $20M for “fiscal federalism” in Nepal – $19M for “biodiversity conversation” in Nepal – $1.5M for “voter confidence” in Liberia – $14M for “social cohesion” in Mali – $2.5M for “inclusive democracies in Southern Africa” – $47M for “improving learning outcomes in Asia” – $2M to develop “sustainable recycling models” to “increase socio-economic cohesion among marginalized communities of Kosovo Roma, Ashkali, and Egypt“”

US taxpayer dollars were going to be spent on the following items, all which have been cancelled:
– $10M for “Mozambique voluntary medical male circumcision”
– $9.7M for UC Berkeley to develop “a cohort of Cambodian youth with enterprise driven skills”
– $2.3M for “strengthening…

— Department of Government Efficiency (@DOGE) February 15, 2025

However, The Indian Express recently published a report claiming that a $21 million USAID grant flagged by the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was meant for Bangladesh, not India.

But that is not the case when we refer to DOGE’s official post. So, what is the intent of The Indian Express in pushing this kind of propaganda?

Amplified By The Likes Of Zubair And Sardesai

Alleged ‘fact-checker’ and AltNews co-founder Mohammed Zubair amplified this report stating, “USAID $21 million for ‘vote turnout’ did NOT go to India but to Bangladesh. The US president confused Dhaka with Delhi. The $21 million, records accessed by @IndianExpress show, was sanctioned in 2022 for Bangladesh, not India.”

USAID $21 million for ‘vote turnout’ did NOT go to India but to Bangladesh. US president confused Dhaka with Delhi. The $21 million, records accessed by @IndianExpress show, was sanctioned in 2022 for Bangladesh, not India.https://t.co/DKJqUP7TFg

— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) February 21, 2025

Here’s pro-Congress and Gandhi family simp Rajdeep Sardesai peddling the same.

Fact check: USAID $21 million for ‘vote turnout’ did NOT go to India but to Bangladesh!! US president confused Dhaka with Delhi!! BJP claimed monies were spent by Cong to topple Modi govt. Worse, so called ‘journalists’ put out identical unsourced charts on how monies were spent.…

— Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) February 21, 2025

What The Indian Express Claims

According to The Indian Express, the $21 million funding was sanctioned in 2022 for Bangladesh under USAID’s “Amar Vote Amar” project, later renamed the “Nagorik” program. The report argues that this funding was misrepresented as being intended for “voter turnout in India” when, in reality, it was used for civic engagement programs in Bangladesh.

What the Official Records Actually Show

DOGE’s own disclosure explicitly lists the $21 million under USAID funding for “voter turnout in India.” The funding appears alongside several other grants, including $22 million for “inclusive and participatory political process” in Moldova and $29 million for “strengthening the political landscape in Bangladesh.” These allocations were part of a broader $486 million package channeled through the Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening (CEPPS).

The Indian Express fails to explain why DOGE, which has access to detailed federal funding records, explicitly stated that the $21 million was designated for India. Furthermore, USAID’s historical engagement with Indian elections raises additional questions about the claim that no such funding existed.

FAKE NEWS ALERT

The Indian Express story discusses $21 million in funding to Bangladesh in 2022. However, the article misrepresents the reference to a $21 million funding tranche intended to ‘promote’ voter turnout in India.

What Indian Express conveniently sidesteps is… pic.twitter.com/niOaWXivm5

— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) February 21, 2025

Even President Trump mentioned $21 million voter turnout in India and $29 million for Bangladesh – as two separate entities. He made no mistake there. 

This Joker calls himself Fact Checker?

After this article was published, Trump clearly said again $21 Million for India and $29 Million for Bangladesh.

Bangladesh got money, but it was meant for them.

They are calling US President as Fake News. This is why Zuckerberg said Fact… https://t.co/8qD4otNyfX pic.twitter.com/jxmETmlgdG

— Ankur Singh (@iAnkurSingh) February 21, 2025

USAID & Role In India’s Electoral System

The Indian Express report conveniently sidesteps the 2012 Memorandum of Understanding between the Election Commission of India and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES). This agreement, signed under then-Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi, facilitated USAID’s involvement in India’s electoral processes.

Notably, IFES—one of the key organizations within CEPPS—is linked to George Soros’s Open Society Foundation and has a documented history of funding political and electoral initiatives in India.

Past funding records, once publicly available on CEPPS’s now-defunct website, show financial flows directed at electoral programs in India as late as 2014.

Why This Matters

The Indian Express report appears to be an attempt to downplay or dismiss concerns about foreign influence in India’s electoral process. The failure to acknowledge IFES’s past agreements with Indian institutions, combined with the misrepresentation of DOGE’s official funding list, suggests a deliberate effort to obscure facts.

Moreover, the narrative constructed by The Indian Express aligns with a broader pattern of denial by certain media and political factions in India, which have historically dismissed allegations of foreign electoral interference.

With DOGE now actively scrutinizing USAID’s funding, more details about past allocations to India’s electoral processes may emerge. The abrupt shutdown of CEPPS’s website only adds to suspicions that key information about past and ongoing programs may be withheld from public scrutiny.

As the debate over foreign funding in India’s elections intensifies, the real question is: why are some media outlets so eager to dismiss concerns raised by official U.S. disclosures? The answer may lie in the very networks that benefited from these funds—networks now scrambling to cover their tracks.

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The post Indian Express, Alt News’ Zubair, Rajdeep Sardesai Peddle Fake News About USAID’s $21 Million Funding For “Voter Turnout”Saying It Was For Bangladesh And Not India, Here’s The Truth appeared first on The Commune.

Several questions are cropping up over the USAID funds made available to several NGOs in the country. The newly created US Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE, which has been auditing several government agencies in the US and cutting wasteful expenditure, posted on February 16 that they identified and cut “$486M to the “Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening”, including “$21M for voter turnout in India”.

The money was given to the NGO Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening (CEPPS) for a programme ‘Voter Turnout in India’. Curiously, the CEPPS website is offline now. The DOGE revelations have led to a major controversy in India with the BJP terming the now-cancelled funding “external interference” in India’s electoral process.

“$21M for voter turnout? This definitely is external interference in India’s electoral process. Who gains from this? Not the ruling party for sure!” said BJP national spokesperson Amit Malviya in a statement on Sunday. Malviya also flagged the controversial 2012 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Election Commission of India and The International Foundation for Electoral Systems, an organisation linked to Soros’ Open Society Foundation, which is primarily funded by USAID — the American federal body that oversees foreign aid and is facing massive budget cuts under Donald Trump’s presidency.

The USAID programme “Elections and Political Processes” was to “Promote legitimate contestation for ideas and political power through democratic political processes that reflect the will of the people”.

The action has raised several questions, including whether this was going on for several years to destabilise the country or influence the voters’ minds. Since the timing of the funding corresponds with that of the Congress-led UPA rule at the Centre, the fingers are being pointed at the grand old party. In 2013, USAID pledged half a million dollars for India under the same category and its implementing partner was CEPPS. The funds were disbursed monthly, in and around, the general election in India, 2014.

Post-election the funding faded though CEPPS continued to fund various projects in India under different heads. Media reports have said that in the Annual Finance Reports of CEPPS for at least 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 the disbursed amount every year is around $320,000. This CEPPS is part of the larger umbrella of IFES (International Foundation of Electoral System) which is funded/partnered with USAID, the US State Department, Open Society (Soros’) etc.

In 2012, the ECI under Dr S.Y. Quraishi as the Chief Election Commissioner, signed an MoU with IFES for joint initiatives for exchanging information, experiences, and research. All this involves the sharing of a lot of data which in today’s era is considered worth a gold mine. Quraishi has, however, denied any wrongdoing but admitted that there was an MoU with IFES. “Yes, there was an MoU with IFES in 2012 when I was CEC like we had with many other agencies and Election Management Bodies to facilitate training for desirous countries at ECI’s training and resource centre, IIIDEM, which was very new at that stage.”

He said in a post on X, “There was no financing or even promise of finance involved in MoU, forget X or Y amount. The MoU in fact made it clear in black and white that there would be no financial and legal obligation of any kind on either side.” He also added that this “stipulation was made at two different places to leave no scope for any ambiguity. Any mention of any funds in connection with this MoU is completely false and malicious.” Interestingly, Quraishi in March 2020 had reposted a tweet that indirectly wished that Prime Minister Modi test positive for Covid-19 after he met Brazilian President Bolsonaro during the Republic Day celebrations. Quraishi also posted a picture of a handshake between the two.

The IFES in May 2023 published a report on Dalit’s role in the election in India. “This report comprises an analysis of survey data of Dalits across South Asia with questions on elections-related issues…” The page has gone defunct now.

The white paper’s keywords resembled Rahul Gandhi’s speeches of ‘jiski jitni aabadi’ (representation), participation, and influence in Parliament. The money trail involved movement from the USAID to CEPPS, a consortium of three large NGOs which in turn partnered with other NGOs and organisations across the world and further funnelled money into these countries.

There is a web of NGOs which have been involved in a series of projects linked to USAID. And questions arise about the money pumped into the country — where they mainly aimed at influencing voters to get a likeable government at the Centre, who was to get the benefits in India and the US, and what could have been the benefits like?

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The post USAID Interference In Indian Elections: NGOs Did The Work For Whom? appeared first on The Commune.

The newly formed DOGE cancelled $21M funding for NGO CEPPS for a program ‘voter turnout in India’. The CEPPS website is defunct now.

Was it the first attempt at electoral interference in India by USAID? The answer is – NO.

The USAID program “Elections and Political Processes” was to “promote legitimate contestation for ideas and political power through democratic political processes that reflect the will of the people”. Gimmicks! The real agenda is influencing the elections. In 2013, USAID pledged half a million dollars for India under the same category.

• Funding Agency – Dept of State
• Managing agency – USAID
• Implementing Partner – Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening (CEPPS).

The funds were disbursed monthly, in and around, the general election in India, 2014. Post-election the funding faded.

Though CEPPS continued to fund different projects in India under different heads. I’ve verified these in the Annual Finance Reports of CEPPS for at least 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019. The amount every year is around $320,000.

This CEPPS is part of the larger umbrella of IFES (International Foundation of Electoral System) which is funded/partnered with USAID, US St Deptartment, Open Society (Soros’), etc.

You may find the ECI (Election Commission of India) logo as well here. The possible reason is here:

In 2012 ECI signed an MoU with IFES for joint initiatives for exchanging information, experiences, and research. Basically, there is a lot of data. This data is a gold mine. At that time Dr SY Quraishi was chief election commissioner.

If you don’t know SY Qureshi, there is a teaser – endorsing a post -“wishing” Coronavirus infection to PM Modi. Anyway!

However, just a short while ago, former CEC, Quraishi said that the MoU was signed but no funds were taken. Leaving it as it is.

Another shocker, I found a whitepaper published by IFES on Dalits’ role in the election in India. The white paper’s keywords had an uncanny resemblance to Rahul Gandhi’s rhetorics of ‘jiski jitni aabadi’ (representation), participation, influence in parliament, etc.

It is not rocket science to understand that these agencies are not a Messiah who wanted to establish democracy in India at American taxpayers’ cost. A well-established ecosystem of deep state to influence and directly interfere in India’s election. There is no question as to who colludes with them from India.

USAID paid $21 million to influence Indian elections by targeting voter turnout, says Mike Benz.

I know it sounds hard to believe, but every single one of these things was a de facto intelligence operation pic.twitter.com/vYSP8elHg3

— Mike Benz (@MikeBenzCyber) February 15, 2025

The award was piped through the NGO named “Consortium for Elections & Political Process Strengthening”. When the grants were checked, it was found that the US has piped billions of taxpayer funds to CEPPS over the last 15 years.

The CEPPS operates through 3 fronts, including the National Democracy Institute (NDI), which in turn supports the Asian Network for Free Elections. Note the Indian map without J&K and Ladakh they published in March 2024.

USAID paid $21 million to influence Indian elections by targeting voter turnout, says Mike Benz.

The award was piped thru the NGO named "Consortium for Elections & Political Process Strengthening".

I checked the grants. The US has piped billions of taxpayer funds to CEPPS… https://t.co/OFsMahaYp7 pic.twitter.com/KOoZSZlVgk

— Tapesh Yadav (@tapeshyadav_usa) February 15, 2025

Curiously, the CEPPS handle on X has been deactivated as has its webpage. But on going to its proxy – the Advancing Electoral Democracy in Asia website, we find that Lokniti CSDS are its local partners. Notice who its Bangladesh partner is? – Odhikar.org which is claiming that the Sheikh Hasina government is responsible for the deaths of people during the “revolution” last year!

Curiously, @cepps’ handle on X has been deactivated as has its webpage. But on going to its proxy – the Advancing Electoral Democracy in Asia website https://t.co/t7EmuRa52Y we find that @LoknitiCSDS are its local partners. Notice who its Bangladesh partner is? https://t.co/sIhDbkfh8o pic.twitter.com/p8ThYFmyLA

— Abhijit Iyer-Mitra (@Iyervval) February 16, 2025

Vasu Mohan, who has been serving IFES for 21 years in various capacities, deleted/deactivated his X profile. What does it indicate?

This article is based on an X thread by The Hawk Eye.

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The post CEPPS And USAID: The $21M Plan Of Deep State To Interfere In Indian Elections appeared first on The Commune.

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the United States recently published a post on X, revealing a list of funding initiatives that were stopped or canceled. Among these, one particular allocation has drawn significant attention in India. According to DOGE’s post, $486 million was given to the Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening (CEPPS), with $21 million specifically allocated for ‘voter turnout’ in India—equivalent to ₹182 crores as per today’s exchange rate.

US taxpayer dollars were going to be spent on the following items, all which have been cancelled:
– $10M for “Mozambique voluntary medical male circumcision”
– $9.7M for UC Berkeley to develop “a cohort of Cambodian youth with enterprise driven skills”
– $2.3M for “strengthening…

— Department of Government Efficiency (@DOGE) February 15, 2025

What Is CEPPS?

Established in 1995, CEPPS describes itself as a coalition of nonprofit, nonpartisan, and nongovernmental organizations dedicated to promoting democratic institutions and governance worldwide. According to its now defunct “About Us” page, the organization is composed of three leading international groups: the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), the International Republican Institute (IRI), and the National Democratic Institute (NDI). These entities serve as operational fronts for CEPPS in different countries.
CEPPS claims to support democratic development by collaborating with political parties, election management bodies, parliaments, civil society organizations, and democracy activists. It has reportedly operated in over 140 countries, delivering extensive democracy, rights, and governance (DRG) programming. CEPPS primarily works with USAID and other international donors, securing large-scale funding for its initiatives.

Notably, CEPPS has received over $2 billion in funding from USAID since its inception. However, in a curious development, CEPPS’s official website became nonfunctional after 23 January 2025. The last known archive of its website was recorded on archive.org on that date, raising questions about the organization’s sudden disappearance from public access.

CEPPS’s Role In Election Interference

A document titled Review of the Fiscal Year 2024 United States Agency for International Development Budget, dated 26 April 2023, explicitly states that USAID has provided $2 billion to CEPPS for its Elections and Political Processes (EPP) programs. In the 2021 financial year alone, CEPPS received 66% of USAID’s EPP funding.

While CEPPS presents itself as a promoter of democracy, a deeper look at the documents suggests that it plays a far more active role in influencing elections worldwide. CEPPS does not just assist election commissions; it actively engages with political parties, civil society groups, and election monitoring bodies. This raises concerns about potential foreign interference in elections under the guise of democracy promotion.

The Democratic Elections and Political Processes (DEPP) program, through which CEPPS operates, appears structured to provide funding and support to selected political groups, potentially tilting election outcomes in their favor. A 2019 USAID Inspector General report even warned that relying on a single entity like CEPPS for political party assistance exposes USAID to significant risks, including credibility loss and allegations of election interference. Despite this, CEPPS continued receiving a dominant share of USAID’s election-related funding, securing 66% of its budget in 2021.

CEPPS In India

CEPPS operates through its three constituent organizations—IFES, IRI, and NDI. According to audit reports, CEPPS allocated $318,614 for its activities in India in FY 2018, with funding funneled through IFES.

A key development in CEPPS’s engagement with India occurred in May 2012, when the Election Commission of India (ECI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with IFES in New Delhi. The agreement was signed by then-Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi and IFES President and CEO William Sweeney. The MoU aimed to facilitate knowledge exchange, joint training programs, research, and capacity-building initiatives via the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM), an ECI-established body.

While IFES is officially funded by USAID, it also receives financial support from various private entities. A review of IFES’s “Our Partners & Donors” section reveals that its funding sources include USAID, the U.S. Department of State, Australian Aid, and the Election Commission of India itself. However, a more concerning revelation is IFES’s backing from corporate and private donors, including Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Open Society Foundations (OSF)—the latter being owned by billionaire George Soros, who has been accused of funding anti-India activities.

The involvement of an organization linked to Soros in India’s electoral processes has raised serious concerns about the extent of foreign influence over Indian elections. Given its financial backing from both public and private entities with potentially conflicting interests, IFES’s real role and motives in India warrant closer scrutiny.

The Election Commission of India’s partnership with IFES did not end with the 2012 MoU. The collaboration has persisted through IIIDEM and International IDEA, a global intergovernmental organization. While the Indian government is not directly engaging with IFES, ECI’s independent dealings with IIIDEM suggest that foreign-backed electoral collaborations continue to exist.

(With inputs from OpIndia)

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The post USAID, CEPPS, And IFES: Unraveling The Web Of Foreign Electoral Funding In India appeared first on The Commune.