Newindpress
Mangalore, Oct 3: Do residents of Mangalore, which prides itself as a hundred per cent literate city, need to be educated on ballot voting?
This was the question haunting 12 senior government officers who served as returning officers in Mangalore City Corporation (MCC) elections. Out of the total 2,04,488 votes polled in MCC elections, 1,822 among them were declared as invalid.
The highest number of invalid votes were polled in Baikampady (81) and in Padua Central (69). ‘‘The number of invalid votes took us by surprise,’’ says Horticulture department Deputy Director C J Nagaraju who served as returning officer for wards from 41 to 45.
Returning officers told Express that blank and multiple voting had rendered many votes invalid. A returning officer estimates that 85 per cent of votes declared as invalid in each ward were either left blank or had multiple markings.
A remaining 10 per cent of the votes declared as invalid had markings on the backside of ballot paper.
Employment Exchange Officer and returning officer for wards from 51 to 55 S D Basavaraju said many voters also had indicated their choice below the imprint making it invalid.
A voter indicated his choice by leaving a thumb print on the ballot paper. The vote was declared as invalid. Returning officer C J Nagaraju suspects that migrant labourers in city may have resorted to blank or multiple voting.
They were either dragged to polling booth and so they vented frustration by dropping blank ballot papers. ‘‘Some voters out of obligation to appease all and hurt none marked choice on names of all candidates,’’ suspects returning officer (55-60) and Employment Youth and Sports officer M C Ramesh.
MUDA Commissioner and Returning officer for wards from 36 to 20, M K Gadka says voters who took the folded ballot paper from polling officers marked their choice on the backside of ballot paper, without even unfolding the ballot paper.
M C Ramesh said until Sunday he had assumed such invalid votes were polled only in cities like Mysore. Now even a posh area like Falnir (ward number 39) had 51 invalid votes and Kankanady (ward number 30) had 49 blank votes.
Revenue Records Deputy Director and returning officer from 11 to 15 wards P Parshwanath said the high number of invalid votes necessitates education on ballot-voting.