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In the 2019 parliamentary polls, voters in Bihar's <keyword id="20327545" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Gopalganj" source="keywords">Gopalganj</keyword> had created a record with 51,660 of them, or five per cent, opting for the <keyword id="20335981" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="NOTA" source="keywords">NOTA</keyword> option, which is placed as the last option on the electronic voting machine. As per the latest trends available on the <keyword id="19895782" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Election-Commission" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Election Commission" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Election Commission">Election Commission</keyword>'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 <keyword id="19895371" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Congress" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Congress" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Congress">Congress</keyword> had received a jolt in the <keyword id="19930878" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indore" source="keywords">Indore</keyword> Lok Sabha seat after its candidate <keyword id="21466595" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="akshay-kanti-bam" source="keywords">Akshay Kanti Bam</keyword> withdrew his nomination on April 29, the last date for the withdrawal of nominations. Bam later joined the <keyword id="19894848" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="BJP" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="BJP" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="BJP">BJP</keyword>, 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 <keyword id="19965032" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="rawat" source="keywords">Rawat</keyword> 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.

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

New Delhi, More than 10 years after a Supreme Court judgement paved way for introduction of the <keyword id="20335981" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="nota" source="keywords">NOTA</keyword> button on EVM for polls, the number of voters choosing it still remains low, with the experts dubbing it as a "toothless tiger" with no implications on the results. NOTA (None of the Above) was introduced in India through the Supreme Court's judgement in September 2013. The need to introduce NOTA was felt to discourage the parties from fielding tainted candidates. The Supreme Court directed the Election Commission to make necessary provision in the ballot papers/EVMs so that the voters can decide not to vote for any of the candidates in the fray. Introduced in 2013, the NOTA option on electronic voting machines has its own symbol - a ballot paper with a black cross across it. After the Supreme Court order in September 2013, the Election Commission added the NOTA button on the EVMs as the last option on the voting panel. One ballot unit has 16 buttons. Before the apex court order, those not inclined to vote for any candidate had the option of filling what is popularly called form 49-O. But filling out the form at the polling station under Rule 49-O of the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961, compromised the secrecy of the voter. However, even as NOTA has secured over 1.29 crore votes in the state assembly elections and the <keyword id="19895394" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="lok-sabha" source="keywords">Lok Sabha</keyword> elections combined in the last five years, the number of candidates with criminal records has increased in both the general and the assembly elections. According to a report by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), the share of MPs with declared criminal cases against them has been increasing in the last decade. While 30 per cent elected MPs had criminal cases against them in 2009, which went up. Of the 543 winners analysed by the ADR in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, 162 (30 per cent) had declared criminal cases against them, with 76 (14 per cent) had serious criminal cases against them. In 2019, the share of MPs with criminal and serious criminal cases increased to 43 per cent and 29 per cent. "NOTA has made no difference as far as criminality is concerned, in fact the number of candidates with criminal cases has increased," Major General (Retd) Anil Verma, Head of ADR, told PTI. "The concept of NOTA was that some pressure would be on the parties not to field tainted candidates. It has not happened," he said. Overall in different state and general elections, votes polled on NOTA have been between .5 per cent to 1.5per cent, according to data compiled by the ADR. It secured around 1.06 per cent votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, and among states, highest was when it got 1.98 percent of the total votes in the 2018 Chhattisgarh Assembly polls. The lowest number of votes NOTA in the Lok Sabha was 100 votes in Lakshadweep, and among the state polls, it secured the lowest percentage of vote share - 0.46 percent in both the Delhi State Assembly Elections, 2020, and the Mizoram State Assembly Elections, 2018. "Unfortunately, it turned out to be a toothless tiger. It merely provided a platform to express dissent or one's anger for political parties to take note and nothing more," <keyword id="20887282" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="maj-gen-verma" source="keywords">Maj Gen Verma</keyword> (Retd) said. He, however, pointed out that overall, the percentage of NOTA votes in seats reserved for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribe has been slightly higher, which may indicate there are more grievances among these groups. "In the reserved constituencies, we have seen the percentage of NOTA votes are higher. Perhaps the tribals and SCs have more grievances so they go in larger numbers for NOTA," he said. Constituency wise, NOTA has secured as high as 27,500 votes in Maharashtra's Latur Rural constituency, a seat reserved for the SC community, over 13 per cent of the total votes. NOTA got the second spot, with Congress' Dhiraj Deshmukh winning with over 67 per cent of the total votes. In 'Red Alert Constituencies', the seats with three or more candidates with criminal cases contesting the elections, NOTA secured 26, 77,616 votes (26.77 lakhs) in the state assembly elections since 2018. It ranges from 1.63 per cent in Bihar in 217 red alert constituencies to 0.43 per cent in Delhi. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the highest number of NOTA votes (51,660) were polled in Bihar's Gopalganj, another reserved SC constituency, where it secured the third spot getting 5.03 per cent of the total votes. Axis India chairman <keyword id="20816878" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="pradeep-gupta" source="keywords">Pradeep Gupta</keyword> said there is a requirement to give more teeth to the NOTA option. "I believe that candidates, who have lost against NOTA should not get a chance to contest again. That is what the logic is all about. Since there is no such rule, many voters think what is the point of choosing NOTA," Gupta told PTI. "In 2014, 1.08 pc voters chose NOTA, the percentage was 1.06 pc in 2019. It is a sizeable number but I believe it is more due to error and less due to intention," Gupta said. "But if a rule is brought in barring the rejected candidates from contesting again, I believe the number will go up like anything. The political parties understand the sensitivity of this and that is why I believe no one will favour such a law and hence NOTA is a toothless option," he added. Calls have also been made for scrapping NOTA. Former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel had last year sought scrapping NOTA, stating that in certain cases it polled more votes than winning margin. In 2018, the Supreme Court had ruled that NOTA option should not be given in the <keyword id="19895369" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="rajya-sabha" source="keywords">Rajya Sabha</keyword> elections.

None of the Above or NOTA toothless without right to reject, say experts

Nearly seven lakh voters in Bihar used the 'none of the above' or NOTA option in the assembly elections, according to latest figures. So far, results of 202 seats out of the total 243 have been announced. According to figures released by the EC, 6,89,135 people or 1.69 per cent of the voters so far have opted for the option whereby they preferred not to vote for any candidate while exercising their democratic right. The 'NOTA' option on electronic voting machines, introduced in 2013, has its own symbol -- a ballot paper with a black cross across it. After the Supreme Court order in September, 2013, the EC added the NOTA button on the EVMs as the last option on the voting panel. Prior to the apex court order, those not inclined to vote for any candidate had the option of filling, what is popularly called, 'form 49-O'. But filling the form at the polling station under Rule 49-O of the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961, compromised the secrecy of the voter. The Supreme Court had, however, refused to direct the Election Commission to hold fresh polls if the majority of the electorate exercises the NOTA option while voting. There were several seats in Bihar where NOTA option got more votes than winning margin of candidates. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/india/news/checkout-here-bihar-assembly-election-2020-results-and-updates-online/articleshow/79142084.cms">Bihar Election Results 2020: Outcome of 28 constituencies announced, NDA leads with five more seats than the Grand Alliance</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/defense/news/prime-minister-modi-hits-out-pakistan-and-china-during-sco-summit-attempts-are-being-made-to-rake-bilateral-issues/articleshow/79148767.cms">Prime Minister Modi takes a dig at Pakistan and China during SCO summit — ‘attempts are being made to rake up bilateral issues’</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/instagram-down-users-complain-of-frozen-timelines-and-likes/articleshow/79146012.cms">Instagram down for over four hours— users complain of frozen timelines and likes</a>

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

PTI

None of the Above or NOTA toothless without right to reject, say experts

PTI

Nearly 7 lakh voters in the Bihar Election 2020 used NOTA option

PTI

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