NOTA - POLITY
News: Two lakh plus NOTA votes in
Indore: Why NOTA was introduced, its consequences
What's in the news?
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The BJP’s Shankar Lalwani has won in Indore with a
massive 10.09 lakh margin, receiving 12,26,751 votes.
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His nearest competitor - NOTA, with 2,18,674 votes.
Key takeaways:
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The extraordinary result in Indore is the most votes that the “None Of The Above” (NOTA) option
has ever received in any constituency to date.
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The previous NOTA record-holder was Gopalganj,
Bihar, in 2019, when 51,660 voters chose this option.
‘None of The Above’
(NOTA):
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‘None of The Above’ (NOTA) option in the Indian
electoral system was introduced in India following the 2013 Supreme Court directive in the People’s Union for Civil Liberties
v. Union of India judgment.
○
The NOTA option was first used in the Assembly
elections held in four states — Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Rajasthan and Madhya
Pradesh and the Union Territory, Delhi in 2013.
Definition:
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NOTA is the option which enables the voter to
officially register a vote of rejection
for all candidates who are contesting.
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If a voter chooses to press NOTA it indicates that
the voter has not chosen to vote for any of the parties.
Features:
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The EVMs have the NOTA option at the end of the candidates list.
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Earlier, in order to cast a negative ballot by
filing Form 49-O, a voter had to inform the presiding officer at the polling
booth. But this compromised the secrecy of the ballot.
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A NOTA vote doesn’t
require the involvement of the presiding officer.
Challenges:
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The NOTA option on EVMs has no electoral value. Even if the maximum number of votes cast is for
NOTA, the candidate getting the most of the remaining votes would be declared
winner.
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In other words, the existence of NOTA has been seen
just as a “symbolic instrument to
express resentment” against all the contesting candidates or the political
system in general.
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However, attempts have been made recently, albeit
at the local level, to expand the scope of NOTA.
States and NOTA:
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In 2018, the Maharashtra
State Election Commission announced that if NOTA garners the most number of
votes in a panchayat or municipality election, then none of the candidates in
the fray would be declared elected, and instead a re-election would take place.
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In the same year, the Haryana State Election Commissioner inserted provisions in the law
to bar the candidates — those who
got less votes than NOTA — from contesting the follow-up elections.
Present Status:
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However, for Assembly
and general elections – which are governed by the Election Commission of
India – the scope of NOTA remains
limited.
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Now, for the NOTA option to be given some
“electoral value” in the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections, amendments will need to be made to Rule 64 of the Conduct
of Election Rules, 1961.
NOTA and Rajya Sabha
Polls:
●
In 2018, the Election Commission withdrew the NOTA option from ballot
papers of the Rajya Sabha and the Legislative Council polls following a Supreme
Court directive.
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The apex court held that the NOTA option is meant
only for universal adult suffrage and direct elections and not polls held by
the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable
vote as done in the Rajya Sabha.