Karnataka Re-NEET 2026 Topper: Vaishnavi Das Leads the State at AIR 20

Bengaluru: Karnataka’s best performer in this year’s Re-NEET UG exam is Vaishnavi Das, who has secured All India Rank 20 with a 99.9978999 percentile. It’s a solid, if not spectacular, state finish – but the more interesting detail sits just beneath the headline number: Karnataka’s presence in the national merit list is smaller and later-arriving than most large states, and led by a woman rather than the usual male-dominated top spot.

Karnataka’s State Topper: Vaishnavi Das

Das’s AIR 20 also earns her a place among the national top 20 female toppers, ranking her among the country’s strongest women scorers this year – well ahead of every male candidate Karnataka fielded in the official rankers list.

Karnataka’s Full Presence in the National Top 138

The Pattern Worth Noting: Karnataka’s Gap at the Very Top

Compare this to Maharashtra (AIR 5), Bihar (AIR 4) or Rajasthan (AIR 3) – states that placed a candidate inside the national top 10. Karnataka’s best finish, AIR 20, is nearly twenty ranks behind that tier. And unlike Rajasthan, which stacked candidates across EWS, ST and OBC categories, Karnataka’s eight entries in the top 138 are almost entirely General category – only Abhiram M breaks that pattern in OBC-NCL. There’s no Karnataka name in NTA’s published SC, ST, or EWS top-10 lists this year.

Karnataka’s Only Other Standout: A PwBD Category Entry

Outside the main merit list, one more Karnataka name surfaces in NTA’s disability-quota rankings – Diganth Eshwar V, who placed among the national top 5 male PwBD toppers with a 99.78549 percentile (national PwBD rank 3). It’s a modest but genuine bright spot in an otherwise thin overall spread for the state.

How Karnataka Compares Nationally

• Punjab and Haryana jointly hold AIR 1 with 715/720
• Rajasthan (AIR 3), Bihar (AIR 4), Maharashtra (AIR 5) and Uttar Pradesh (AIR 7) all outrank Karnataka’s best finisher
• Karnataka’s AIR 20 still places it ahead of Tamil Nadu’s non-topper entries and most smaller states, but well behind the states dominating this year’s top 10
• Of the 138 national top-scorers, Karnataka contributed just 8 names — a noticeably thinner showing than Rajasthan’s 19 or Maharashtra’s double-digit spread

Karnataka NEET UG 2026 Counselling: What Comes Next

• Conducted by the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) at cetonline.karnataka.gov.in (also referenced as kea.kar.nic.in)
• Covers 85% of state-quota MBBS/BDS seats in government colleges and 100% of private-college state-quota seats; the remaining 15% AIQ seats go through MCC
• Karnataka’s counselling notably allows non-domicile candidates to compete for private-quota seats, unlike several other states that restrict counselling strictly to residents
• Minimum qualifying percentile: 50th for General, 40th for SC/ST/OBC (Karnataka categories), 45th for PwD
• Process runs through registration, document verification, merit list release, choice-filling and seat allotment across 4–5 rounds

What Karnataka Candidates Should Do Next

• Track cetonline.karnataka.gov.in for the KEA registration window and information bulletin
• Karnataka domicile certificate is mandatory for state-quota seats – candidates should confirm eligibility criteria (birth in state, schooling in Karnataka, etc.) early
• Keep Class 12 marksheets, category certificates and NEET scorecard ready for document verification, which is conducted rank-wise
• Non-Karnataka candidates eyeing private-quota seats should note they remain ineligible for government-quota seats under KEA rules