Moreover, the civic body officials did not explain the reasons for cancelling the permission, the news website reported.

Although the order of the electoral registration officer, who had granted the NGO permission to conduct the survey, said that Chilume “should not be associated with any political organisation”, the investigation found that the NGO runs firms that manage election campaigns for political parties.

Initially, in January, the NGO was granted permission to conduct a survey in the Mahadevapura assembly constituency. Later, on August 20, the permission to Chilume was expanded to include all 28 assembly constituencies within BBMP limits, the report said.

The workers told TNM that they were misled into believing that they were part of a legitimate government exercise. They said they were lured with the promise of salaries ranging between Rs 15,000 and Rs 25,000, depending on how much data they collected.

Congress alleges ‘theft of voter data’

In a press conference, Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala demanded Bommai’s resignation and an investigation under the supervision of Karnataka high court chief justice, reported Deccan Herald.

“The shocking expose has revealed that those sitting in the citadels of power, including Bommai, are responsible for theft of voter data, fraud and impersonation,” alleged Surjewala.

Citing the investigation, Surjewala said that the voter data collected by Chilume was uploaded on a private app called Digital Sameeksha, owned by its sister firm Chilume Enterprises Private Limited.