NOTA Votes in Indore: Why NOTA was Introduced and its Consequences

Context: In Indore, the winning candidate secured a victory by a substantial margin of 10.09 lakh votes, tallying a total of 1,226,751 votes. The closest competitor was the NOTA option, which received 218,674 votes.

• NOTA votes rank 3rd in 24 of 25 seats in Gujarat, vote share of 1.56 per cent.
• Across 17 Lok Sabha constituencies in Telangana have underscored significant voter dissatisfaction, as witnessed by a substantial number of None of the Above (NOTA) votes.
• Nota emerged as the 3rd-highest vote-getter in four of six parliamentary constituencies in Mumbai
• Bihar leads among key states in NOTA votes as 2% voters reject all candidates

None Of The Above (NOTA)

• NOTA stands for “None Of The Above,” a ballot option for Indian voters.
• It allows voters to reject all candidates in an election without compromising their vote’s secrecy.
• First Use: NOTA was first used in the 2013 Assembly elections in Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Rajasthan, Delhi, and Madhya Pradesh, and then in the 2014 General Elections.
• Legal Introduction: The option was introduced following a 2013 Supreme Court directive in the PUCL vs Union of India case.
• Casting a NOTA Vote: Voters can select NOTA on the EVM, located at the end of the candidates’ list.
• Previous Method: Before EVMs, voters had to verbally inform the presiding officer to cast a negative vote.
• Electoral Impact: NOTA votes do not affect the election outcome. The candidate with the highest number of votes wins, regardless of NOTA votes.

Frictions Related to NOTA

• From 2018, states including Maharashtra, Haryana, Delhi, and Puducherry began recognizing NOTA as a “fictional electoral candidate” in Local body polls.
• These states have rules that mandate re-election if NOTA comes out as the winner, effectively disqualifying the candidate who finished second.
• The petition contends that the practice of declaring the second-place candidate as the winner in cases where NOTA has the most votes is against the foundational principles of NOTA.
• The rules in these states regarding NOTA and election outcomes should be uniformly applied across all of India, as per the petition.

Sharing is caring!