34,021 Ballots Declared Invalid Across Four Karnataka MLC Constituencies
A total of 34,021 votes cast by teachers and graduates across four Karnataka Legislative Council constituencies were declared invalid in recent elections, exposing widespread issues with how educated voters navigated the preference-based ballot system. Out of 2.28 lakh votes cast across the four segments, approximately 14.92 percent were discarded during counting.
In the Bengaluru City Teachers' Constituency, 1,827 of the 22,245 votes polled were rejected as invalid. The discarded ballots proved consequential in the final outcome, where Janata Dal (Secular) candidate AP Ranganath defeated Congress nominee Puttanna by a narrow margin of 907 votes. The number of rejected votes in the constituency was more than double the winning margin.
The highest rejection rate occurred in the South-East Graduates' Constituency, where election officials discarded 20,076 of the 1,12,062 ballots cast. BJP candidate KM Suresh and Congress candidate Shakti Hulikumte Math were the main contenders in that contest. Elsewhere, 10,425 out of 63,446 ballots were ruled invalid in the West Graduates' constituency, while 1,873 of the 30,253 votes cast in the North East Teachers' constituency were rejected.
Officials reported that many voters used their ballots to write comments or messages directly to candidates instead of marking numerical preferences. Some papers had notes written on them, including "Why did you leave your party?", "There is no benefit if people like you enter politics," and "I do not feel like voting for you." Other ballots featured drawings, sketches, cross marks, and messages reading "I love you," rendering the votes invalid under counting rules.
The Legislative Council elections rely on a preference-based voting system requiring electors to write numerical preferences beside candidate names. An election official noted that unfamiliarity among first-time voters, confusion among experienced voters including retired teachers, and intentional ballot spoiling contributed to the high rate of rejections.
Unlike general elections that feature an electronic None of the Above option, these council elections do not include NOTA on the preference ballot paper. Voters who choose not to back any candidate must use a separate designated form, but many electors instead marked across candidate names or defaced the papers, leading to their automatic exclusion from counting.
