June 4th 2024.
In the city of Indore, located in Madhya Pradesh, a remarkable event has taken place during the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. The option of "None of the Above" (NOTA) on the electronic voting machine has received an overwhelming response from voters, with a record-breaking 2.18 lakh individuals choosing this option. This accounts for 14.01% of the total voters, and it is worth noting that NOTA was introduced in 2013 following a directive from the Supreme Court.
This is not the first time that NOTA has received such a significant number of votes. In the previous parliamentary elections in 2019, the district of Gopalganj in Bihar had 51,660 voters opting for NOTA, which was placed as the last option on the voting machine. Similarly, in the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu in 2014, NOTA received 46,559 votes, which amounted to nearly 5% of the total votes.
The recent Lok Sabha polls in Indore saw a remarkable voter turnout of 69%, with 5,045 individuals choosing NOTA. However, the victory ultimately went to the sitting MP from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shankar Lalwani, who won by a potentially record-breaking margin of 11,75,092 votes. His nearest rival from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Lakshman Solanki, could only manage to secure 51,659 votes.
It is interesting to note that the call for NOTA was made by the opposition party, Congress, after their candidate Akshay Kanti Bam withdrew from the election at the last minute. This unexpected move forced Congress out of the race for this prestigious seat, and Bam later joined the BJP. The impact of NOTA on the election results has been a topic of discussion, with former Chief Election Commissioner O P Rawat stating that it has a "symbolic" effect. He also added that in order for NOTA to have a legal impact on the results, it would need to receive more than 50% of the votes in a particular constituency.
Rawat further explained that even if 99 out of 100 votes go in favor of NOTA and only one vote goes to a candidate, that candidate would still emerge victorious. He believes that for NOTA to truly make a difference, more than 50% of the voters in a constituency would need to choose this option, sending a strong message to the political community. This would put pressure on the Parliament and the Election Commission to reconsider their laws and make NOTA more effective in influencing election results.
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