Let’s talk about NOTA. The ‘None of the Above’ (NOTA) option has been on EVMs with a dedicated symbol for some time now. But of the 822 constituencies that went to polls this time, the NOTA option count was more than the victory margin in 62 constituencies. Of these, 24 were in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu each. Which means NOTA is a polling button that can cause significant political ramifications.
NOTA polled close to 17 lakh votes in the 5 states that voted this time. Election results from these states indicate that the votes polled for NOTA were more than the victory margin in 62 out of 822 constituencies.