With 2.18 lakh voters, NOTA creates record in Madhya Pradesh's Indore seat

In the 2019 parliamentary polls, voters in Bihar's Gopalganj had created a record with 51,660 of them, or five per cent, opting for the NOTA option, which is placed as the last option on the electronic voting machine.

As per the latest trends available on the Election Commission's website at 3.15 PM, over 4.62 lakh (0.99 per cent of the total voters opted for NOTA.

Out of 61,31,33,300 votes polled in the 2019 polls, 65,14,558 (1.06 per cent) were polled for NOTA.

Similarly in 2014 parliamentary elections, out of 55,38,02,946 votes polled, 60,02,942 (1.08 per cent) were polled for NOTA.

The Congress had received a jolt in the Indore Lok Sabha seat after its candidate Akshay Kanti Bam withdrew his nomination on April 29, the last date for the withdrawal of nominations.

Bam later joined the BJP, prompting the Congress to appeal to the people to press the NOTA option on EVMs during polling in Indore on May 13.

Former Chief Election Commissioner O P Rawat had recently described NOTA as having a "symbolic" impact and had said if it gets more than 50 per cent votes in a seat, only then making it legally effective on poll results could be considered.

Rawat had also told PTI that if 99 out of 100 votes go in favour of NOTA option and someone gets one vote, even then the canidate will emerge victorious.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Indore recorded 69 per cent turnout with 5,045 voters opting for NOTA.

Rawat said, "In the present situation, NOTA has only symbolic significance and it cannot have an impact on the election result of any seat."

"More than 50 per cent electors will have to once opt for NOTA in a seat to show the political community that they do not consider candidates with criminal background or other undeserving ones worthy of their votes. Only after this, pressure on Parliament and the Election Commission will increase and they will have to think about changing laws to make NOTA effective on the election results," he said.