The NOTA button has again emerged as a formidable option for voters.
As many as 63,47,509 voters pressed the NOTA button, choosing 'None Of The Above' in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Below, we take a look at the numbers.
Here are some constituencies with highest NOTA votes in 2024:
Indore on Tuesday re-wrote history by registering the highest-ever NOTA votes in the country at 2,18,674, breaking the previous NOTA record of Gopalganj in Bihar.
Araku in Andhra Pradesh was a distant second, recording 50,470 NOTA votes this time around.
Odisha's Nabarangpur seat followed closely behind, with 43,268 NOTA votes tallied.
Bihar's Gopalganj in 2024 received 42,863 NOTA votes, a little less than the 51,660 NOTA votes recorded in the constituency in the 2019 LS polls, which was a record back then. Kodarma in Jharkhand also received 42,152 NOTA votes this time, wrapping up the top five constituencies in this regard.
These five were followed by Koraput, Hajipur, Bastar, Jhanjharpur, and Dahod, which received 37,131, 36,927, 36,758, 35,928, and 34,938 NOTA votes respectively, this time around.
What happened in earlier elections?
A total of 65,20,000 NOTA votes were polled in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, of which 22,272 votes were postal ballots. While 1.06 per cent voters pressed the NOTA option in 2019, as many as 1.08 per cent voters pressed the NOTA option in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
According to the Association for Democratic Reforms, the 2019 Lok Sabha polls saw a total NOTA vote percentage of 1.06 per cent which translated to 65,23,975 such votes—a marginal decrease from 1.08 per cent recorded in the 2014 LS polls. The highest NOTA votes totaled was 51,660 in Bihar's Gopalgaj constituency while the lowest were a 100 votes in Laskshwadeep.
As per ADR, the number of NOTA options exercised in 2014 was 60,02,942 with the the highest number of such votes i.e. 46,559 being recorded in the Nilgris constituency of Tamil Nadu. The lowest number of votes NOTA secured i.e. 123, was in Lakshadweep.
Until 2013, if people wanted to exercise a similar option, they had to do it under Rule 49-O of Conduct of Elections. The process was tedious as it involved filling out a form at the polling station.
What is NOTA?
NOTA was first introduced in 2013 after a human rights organisation PUCL (People’s Union for Civil Liberties) moved the apex court of the country with a writ petition— demanding the inclusion of the NOTA option in the voting process. NOTA votes are crucial to the results of an election as they deduct votes from political parties, which can lead to shifting of victory margins.
That being said, NOTA cannot decide an election: if the number of NOTA votes exceed the total number of votes received by candidates in a constituency, the candidate who secures the most number of votes is considered to be the winner.
However, despite its electoral impotency, the 'None of the Above' option has its significance as it shows voters' displeasure over the choice of candidates from a particular constituency.
(With PTI Inputs)
Lok Sabha Election 2024 results | Check all constituency results here
Odisha Assembly poll 2024 results| Check constituency results here
Andhra Pradesh Assembly poll 2024 results | Check constituency results here
Lok Sabha Elections 2024 | Narendra Modi's '400-paar' hopes faced stiff competition from Rahul Gandhi's I.N.D.I.A. in an election whose result came as a surprise. Track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.
Assembly Elections 2024 | The polls in Sikkim saw an SKM landslide win, while Arunachal Pradesh saw BJP return, Andhra Pradesh welcomed TDP with a massive mandate, and Odisha saw BJP end BJD's stronghold. Subscribe and follow DH on Whatsapp, X, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram to never miss out on anything.