An important aspect of the voting process in India is ‘None of the Above’ (NOTA), which means ‘None of the Above’ in Hindi. NOTA was first used in India in 2013. This gave the voters an option to indicate in the EVM that they did not prefer a candidate. They will not vote for him. NOTA is also called negative vote. Many people also consider NOTA as a waste of votes, let us tell you why NOTA was introduced in Indian elections and its impact on the entire electoral process.
What if NOTA gets maximum votes?
In the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, the BJP candidate was declared the unopposed winner in Surat, Gujarat. After this a question arose in everyone’s mind. That is, what happens if NOTA gets maximum votes? Under the current rules, if NOTA gets the highest number of votes in the poll, the candidate who gets the highest number of votes after NOTA will be declared the winner. The Supreme Court has sought a response from the Election Commission while hearing a petition questioning what would happen if NOTA gets a majority in April.
The Election Commission implemented it in 2013 on the orders of the Supreme Court. In September 2013, while hearing a petition, the Supreme Court had asked the Election Commission to provide an alternative to notes on EVMs (Electronic Voting Machines). The NOTA button is written as the last option on the EVM.
Reasons for inclusion of NOTA in polling
These three main reasons can be considered for inclusion of NOTA on EVM. The first of these reasons is that in a democratic country people have the right to choose their representatives, but they have no option to reject political parties and other candidates.
Through NOTA, voters can tell political parties that if they do not field qualified candidates, NOTA gives the common citizen the freedom to express their views without any pressure through secret ballot. That is why NOTA is also considered a good option.
What impact did NOTA have on the election?
The impact of NOTA on election results appears to vary by region. This shows how many people are not happy with the candidates fielded by the parties. If NOTA gets more votes in any constituency then it is a big message for political parties. This makes them realize the need to change their policies and leaders in that area.
However, the impact of NOTA on elections and voters in the country has been negligible so far. According to the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) report, after the inclusion of NOTA on EVMs in 2013, NOTA got 1.08 percent (60,00197) votes in the 2014 elections. NOTA got 1.06 percent (65,23,975) votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The Quantum Hub firm, after analyzing the Election Commission’s data, found that NOTA got two percent of the votes in Bihar. This is followed by Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
What are the challenges of NOTA?
NOTA has become only a symbolic part of the Indian electoral process. Voters are expressing their dissatisfaction through NOTA, but the number of these voters is not large enough to have any impact on political parties. Votes for NOTA do not directly affect the election results. NOTA has no direct effect on the election results, only the candidate with the highest number of votes is declared the winner.
Rights like NOTA have brought down the government in Poland
In the 1989 elections in Poland, the right of refusal was used similar to NOTA. As a result of the social movement and great discontent against the government, the communist government fell in Poland. Voters used the right of rejection to topple this government.
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