NEW DELHI — It began last week with a social media post from Elon Musk’s U.S. DOGE Service, listing foreign grants it said it had canceled. Buried in the middle was a reference to “$21M for voter turnout in India.”

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It was soon front-page news in New Delhi. Prominent members of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — which has long made unfounded allegations of foreign influence in national elections — seized on it as evidence of a nefarious U.S. plot.

“The recent revelation has left me shocked,” Indian Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar said Friday. “The democratic process of this country was sought to be manipulated to dent the purity of our electoral system.”

Two days before, President Donald Trump had fanned the flames at an investment summit in Miami: “What do we need to spend $21 million for voter turnout in India?” he mused.

“I guess they were trying to get somebody else elected,” he said. “Well, we ought to tell the Indian government.”

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There is little to tell.

The Washington Post found no evidence that $21 million was due to be spent for voter turnout in India or for any other purpose. Three people with knowledge of regional aid programs, speaking on the condition of anonymity for fear of government retaliation, expressed bewilderment over the claim — and concern that it would energize efforts by India’s right-wing government to further weaken civil society.

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