West Bengal Assembly Election 2021 FAQs: What is NOTA?

West Bengal, one of the biggest states by size of the Legislative Assembly, will go to polls starting on March 27, the Election Commission has announced.

The state, with a 294-member strong Legislative Assembly, will go to polls in eight phases - the highest number of all four states and one UT going to polls.

Many among the voters of the state to exercise their franchise are likely to be new voters. For them, the ECI has provided a facility to apply for a voter ID online, allowing them to bypass the hassle of going to offices. But what choice do the voters have in choosing between the candidates placed by the various parties?

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In the process of voting, apart from all the parties that are listed on the EVMs, there is another option called ‘NOTA’.

What is NOTA?

In India, if a voter does not support any of the candidates contesting in a particular election, but has to vote for something, then they can select the ‘None of the above’ (NOTA) option. This option empowers the voter to reject all the candidates listed on the electronic voting machine (EVM).

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When was it first used?

NOTA was used for the first time in the 2013 assembly elections in five states - Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Rajasthan, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh - and later in the 2014 General Elections. It was introduced into the electoral process following the 2013 Supreme Court directive in PUCL versus Union of India case. The Supreme Court reasoned that the NOTA option would allow voters to express their discontent with the political parties and the candidates they put up and thus, help cleanse the political system.

Does it have any impact on the results?

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NOTA has no electoral value in the Indian system. Even if the maximum votes are given in favour of NOTA, the candidate with the largest number of votes, which could theoretically even be just one, will still be declared elected.

What purpose does it serve?

Despite NOTA not having an electoral value, it is still a very significant tool for voters to express their discontent which will in turn, it hopes, cleanse the system. It is also seen as a tool for the marginalised groups to highlight their issues that would not otherwise find space in the mainstream electoral discourse.