Is George Soros trying to influence Karnataka elections? Here's what report says

With Karnataka assembly elections 2023 round the corner, a report by news outfit The Lede has claimed that Hungarian-American businessman George Soros and his Open Society Foundations (OSF) is trying to influence voters against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party through proxies.

In a report, Journalist Sandhya Ravishankar has detailed how the OSF Vice-President Salil Shetty is sabotaging the political fortunes of the incumbent BJP government through his 'Yuva Shakti' mission.

Shetty, the founder of Yuva Shakti, is now actively working in Nelamangala and Doddaballapura in the State.

The Lede shared an old of Salil Shetty wherein he discussed the objective behind the 'Yuva Shakti' mission in Bihar.

"About 30-40 of us got together from Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru and we discussed that the country is in bad shape and we need to do something about this. There is a big crisis in the country and the financial condition of the nation is weak," he claimed.

3. It has been admitted by Salil Shetty that he founded Yuva Shakti with 30-40 people from Delhi, Mumbai & Bengaluru.

4. It is well established that Yuva Shakti is attempting to subvert elections in Karnataka by mobilising people against the BJP.

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— Sandhya Ravishankar (@sandhyaravishan) March 18, 2023

"The second issue is that religious tension and polarisation have increased. On top of this, healthcare, education and unemployment have come to a very critical state in this country. We discussed solutions. The future and the present are in the hands of youngsters. This is how Yuva Shakti was launched," he was heard saying in the video shot in 2020.

According to The Lede Editor, Sandhya Ravishankar, the 'Yuva Shakti' mission is anything but an awareness programme about Indian Constitution and citizen rights.

In a series of tweets, she said "It is established without a doubt that George Soros is directly & indirectly funding mega NGOs like Oxfam, NFI, CSEI, Amnesty International etc."

"It has been admitted by Salil Shetty that he founded Yuva Shakti with 30-40 people from Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru," she added.

It is well established that Yuva Shakti is attempting to subvert elections in Karnataka by mobilising people against the BJP. It is a fact that George Soros said he "expects a democratic revival in India".

Notably, Salil Shetty expressed solidaity with Rahul Gandhi Bharat Jodo Yatra and walked with him during the Congress mass reach out programme in Karnataka.

She also highlighted how the 'Yuva Shakti' mission in Doddaballapuratar regularly targets Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhak while the branch at Neelamangala co-opts Congress party's slogan of '40% sarkar' against the BJP.

She alleged that Yuva Shakti is attempting to exploit fault lines in society, destroy social cohesion, and subvert the democratic process through undue interference in Karnataka elections.

Soros is the founder of Open Society Foundations, which gives grants to groups and individuals that promote democracy, transparency and freedom of speech. It is a known fact that Soros has tried to use international institutions, which are funded by him to tarnish the image of India at a global level.

In 2020, Soros slammed the Modi government while addressing an event at World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, saying nationalism was making headway and the "biggest setback" was seen in India.

"The biggest and most frightening setback occurred in India where a democratically elected Narendra Modi is creating a Hindu nationalist state, imposing punitive measures on Kashmir, a semi-autonomous Muslim region, and threatening to deprive millions of Muslims of their citizenship," he had said.

Interestingly, Soros is also friends with prominent Congressman Shashi Tharoor.