NOTA, what is it, ask Mysureans

Schoolchildren take out a rally as part of voters awareness drive on the occasion of the Republic Day in Mysuru, recently.

It appears that ‘none of the above’ (NOTA) option is not popular among the voters in the city. Most of the first time voters are either not aware or are partially aware of NOTA.

Despite several rounds of voter awareness drives, conducted under the Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation programme (SVEEP), as per the directions of the Election Commission, many voters are yet to understand the concept of NOTA.

Shivaraj, an Engineering student, said that he has never heard about NOTA option. “I don’t know what NOTA is all about? I have not heard about it,” said 22-year-old Shivaraj.

As Shivaraj is a first time voter, he discussed about the candidates. “I am not interested in politics, but, I don’t want to waste my first vote. I have discussed about the candidates with friends and family members. But, no one told me about NOTA,” he said. Like him, many of his friends were unaware about NOTA.

Though some voters are aware of NOTA option, they have no extended information like the impact of NOTA on the elections, candidates and political parties. What is the value of NOTA, asked Prasanna,
an elderly voter.

Awareness drive

The District Election Office, in association with SVEEP committee, has been conducting a series of awareness drives about the importance of voting. But, it seems that the authorities have failed to focus on NOTA, which was introduced in the state during the 2014 MP elections.

The SVEEP authorities highlight about NOTA during campaigns, but, don’t provide in-depth information about the impact of NOTA, said a student.

A senior officer said, “NOTA option hardly has any impact on the results of the election. NOTA was
introduced with an idea to provide more options to the voters and to increase the polling percentage. NOTA is an option for the voters to express their disapproval of the candidates contested in the election.

NOTA will not have any effect on the election results. Even if NOTA votes are higher than the number of votes obtained by the candidates. The candidate, who secures the highest votes will be declared winner.