None Of The Above(NOTA) Option:
The “None of the Above” (NOTA) option has emerged as the runner-up in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore constituency, securing a record-breaking 2,18,674 votes, the highest-ever tally.
- NOTA (None of the Above) is a voting option on the ballot that allows voters to indicate disapproval of all contesting candidates without choosing any of them.
- NOTA empowers the electors to express their negative opinions and a lack of support for the contenders.
- It gives them the right to reject while maintaining the secrecy of their decision.
- 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 the PUCL versus Union of India case.
- The Election Commission clarified that votes cast as NOTA are counted, but are considered ‘invalid votes’.
- Even if NOTA votes get the most number of votes in a constituency, the next candidate with the second-most number of votes is declared the winner.
- Therefore, votes made to NOTA do not change the outcome of an election.
