Assam Assembly Election Results 2026: Few takers for NOTA option; crosses 1% mark

New Delhi: The 'None of the Above' or NOTA option has once again not found favour among voters, the Election Commission data on the result of polls to five assemblies shows.

Except for Assam, the NOTA option has not crossed the one per cent mark.

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In Assam, 1.29 per cent of the voters pressed the NOTA button on electronic voting machines (EVMs), followed by 0.81 per cent in West Bengal.

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Puducherry came third with 0.73 per cent of the voters exercising the option. In Kerala, 0.58 per cent of the voters pressed the NOTA button, followed by 0.41 per cent in Tamil Nadu.

The distribution of NOTA votes across the states exhibits slight variation, reflecting regional political dynamics, voter preferences and levels of political engagement.

The NOTA option in EVMs recorded its lowest percentage share in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls since its introduction in 2013, according to data shared by the Election Commission.

The option was implemented in a Lok Sabha poll for the first time in 2014.

According to the polls panel’s ‘Atlas-2024’, a book containing data from last year’s Lok Sabha polls, there has been a gradual decline in NOTA votes over the past three Lok Sabha elections, from 1.08 per cent in 2014 to 0.99 per cent in 2024.

The NOTA option on electronic voting machines has its own symbol -- a ballot paper with a black cross across it. The EC added the NOTA button on EVMs as the last option on the voting panel after a September 2013 Supreme Court order.

Before the apex court's order, those not inclined to vote for any candidate had the option of filling what is popularly called Form 49-O. But filling out the form at the polling station under Rule 49-O of the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961, compromised the secrecy of the voter.

The Supreme Court had, however, refused to direct the EC to hold fresh polls if the majority of the electorate exercised the NOTA option while voting.

Voting to elect new governments in Assam, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal was held on different dates in April, and votes were counted on Monday.