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Since 2013, None of the Above, abbreviated as NOTA, has been included as a choice on
ballot papers A ballot is a device used to cast votes in an election and may be found as a piece of paper or a small ball used in voting. It was originally a small ball (see blackballing) used to record decisions made by voters in Italy around the 16th centur ...
in most Indian elections. By expressing a preference for
none of the above "None of the above" (NOTA), or none for short, also known as "against all" or a "scratch" vote, is a ballot option in some jurisdictions or organizations, designed to allow the voter to indicate disapproval of the candidates in a voting system ...
, a voter can choose not to endorse any candidate in the elections. As a result of the 2013 judgement ''PUCL vs. Union of India'', the
Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India is the supreme judiciary of India, judicial authority and the supreme court, highest court of the Republic of India. It is the final Appellate court, court of appeal for all civil and criminal cases in India. It also ...
directed the
Election Commission of India The Election Commission of India (ECI) is a constitutional body established by Constitution of India, the Constitution of the Republic of India empowered to conduct free and fair elections in the Republic of India. It is headed by a Chief Ele ...
to include NOTA in elections to the
Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...
and state legislative assemblies. The NOTA option was first used in the 2013 elections in four states (
Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (; ) is a landlocked States and union territories of India, state in Central India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the List ...
,
Mizoram Mizoram is a states and union territories of India, state in northeastern India, with Aizawl as its Capital city, capital and largest city. It shares 722-kilometres (449 miles) of international borders with Bangladesh to the west, and Myanmar t ...
,
Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...
, and
Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...
) and the
union territory Among the states and union territories of India, a Union Territory (UT) is a region that is directly governed by the Government of India, central government of India, as opposed to the states, which have their own State governments of India, s ...
of
Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...
. Since its introduction, NOTA has gained popularity amongst voters, securing more votes than some candidates in legislative assembly elections, and in some instances, securing more votes than the winning candidate in panchayat elections.


Supreme Court Judgement on NOTA

A writ petition was filed by
People's Union for Civil Liberties People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) is a human rights body formed in India in 1976 by Jayaprakash Narayan, as the People's Union for Civil Liberties and Democratic Rights (PUCLDR). Background Indian emergency Jayaprakash Narayan was ...
(PUCL). The
Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India is the supreme judiciary of India, judicial authority and the supreme court, highest court of the Republic of India. It is the final Appellate court, court of appeal for all civil and criminal cases in India. It also ...
judgement said,
We direct the Election Commission to provide necessary provision in the ballot papers/EVMs and another button called "None of the Above" (NOTA) may be provided in EVMs so that the voters, who come to the polling booth and decide not to vote for any of the candidates in the fray, are able to exercise their right not to vote while maintaining their right of secrecy.
The Supreme Court also observed that it is essential that people of high moral and ethical values are chosen as people's representatives for proper governance of the country, and NOTA button can compel political parties to nominate a sound candidate.


Election Commission of India (ECI) and NOTA

# ECI has stated that "...''even if, in any extreme case, the number of votes against NOTA is more than the number of votes secured by the candidates, the candidate who secures the largest number of votes among the contesting candidates shall be declared to be elected''..." #In a clarification released in 2013, ECI has stated that votes polled for NOTA cannot be considered for determining the forfeiture of security deposit. #In 2014, ECI introduced NOTA in Rajya Sabha elections. (The Supreme Court in 2018, has scrapped ‘None Of The Above’ (NOTA) option in Rajya Sabha elections) #In 2015, Election Commission of India announced the symbol for 'None of the Above' option, with the design being done by
National Institute of Design The National Institutes of Design (NID) are a group of autonomous public design institutes in India, with the first institute established in 1961 in Ahmedabad. The other NIDs are located in the cities of Kurukshetra, Amaravati, Jorhat and Bho ...
(NID), Ahmedabad. Earlier, there were demands that Election Commission allot the symbol of a donkey for NOTA.


Performance

In many elections, NOTA has won more votes than many of the political parties that contested. The highest NOTA record is
Indore Lok Sabha constituency Indore Lok Sabha constituency is one of the 29 Lok Sabha constituencies in Madhya Pradesh state in central India. This constituency covers most of the Indore district. The Member of Parliament from Indore Lok Sabha constituency is Shankar ...
in
2024 elections This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. *2024 United Nations Security Council election *2024 national electoral calendar *2024 local electoral ...
saw more than 2 lakh votes polled for NOTA. The candidate has won in Indore with a 10.09 lakh margin, receiving 12,26,751 votes. His nearest competitor was NOTA, with 2,18,674 votes 16.28 percent of votes) which was reportedly due to withdrawal of opposition at the last moment. The previous NOTA record-holder was Gopalganj, Bihar, in
2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...
, when 51,660 voters chose this option which is 5 percent of votes. In the
2014 Lok Sabha elections General elections were held in India in nine phases from 7 April to 12 May 2014 to elect the members of the 16th Lok Sabha. With 834 million registered voters, they were the largest-ever elections in the world until being surpassed by the 2019 ...
, NOTA garnered 46,559 votes in Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu by pocketing nearly 5 percent of votes cast there. In many constituencies, votes received by NOTA have been higher than the margin by which the candidate has won. Observations have been made that NOTA can influence more citizens to participate in voting, though there is a danger that the novelty factor associated with NOTA will gradually erode. However, it seems that the popularity of NOTA is growing with time. NOTA has not managed to secure a majority, but in many of the elections since its introduction - including the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections as well as several Assembly Elections - the number of NOTA votes polled has been higher than the victory margin in many constituencies. In the 2017 Gujarat Assembly Elections, the total vote share of NOTA was lesser only than the
Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...
(BJP),
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
, and Independent Candidates. In 118 constituencies, NOTA polled the third largest vote share after BJP and Congress. In the 2018 Karnataka Assembly Elections, NOTA polled more votes than some parties with a nation-wide presence such as
CPI (M) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)) is a Communism in India, communist List of political parties in India, political party in India. It is the largest communist party in India in terms of membership and electora ...
and BSP. In the Madhya Pradesh Assembly Elections conducted in 2018, the difference between the vote share of the BJP and Congress was just 0.1%, whereas NOTA polled a vote share of 1.4%. In the South Gwalior Constituency, the sitting MLA
Narayan Singh Kushwah Narayan Singh Kushwah alternatively spelt as Narayan Singh Kushwaha, is an Indian politician and member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Kushwah was a member of the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly from the Gwalior South constituency in Gwalio ...
lost by 121 votes, whereas NOTA got 1550 votes. Had all the NOTA voters hypothetically voted for Kushwah, he would have won by a huge margin. In the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections, 2G scam accused MP - A Raja ( DMK candidate) - lost to the
AIADMK The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (; AIADMK, also abbreviated as ADMK), also shortened to Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, is an Indian regional political party with great influence in the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory ...
candidate, while NOTA emerged with the third largest vote share, possibly as an expression of public anger towards corrupt candidates. In the
2019 Indian general election General elections were held in India in seven phases from 11 April to 19 May 2019 to elect the members of the 17th Lok Sabha. Votes were counted and the result was declared on 23 May. Around 912 million people were eligible to vote, and vote ...
, about 1.04 percent of the voters chose to vote for NOTA, with Bihar and Assam leading with 2.08 percent NOTA voters.


Responses

NOTA has been described as the maturing of India's democracy. The power of NOTA to express dissent is clearly visible in reports where entire communities decided to democratically protest against governments that have failed to meet their needs. For instance, there have been multiple cases of entire villages deciding to vote for NOTA due to consistent failure of local governments to meet basic requirements like roads, electricity, inaction towards villagers' complaints about water contamination by industries, and even reports of
sex workers A sex worker is a person who provides sex work, either on a regular or occasional basis. The term is used in reference to those who work in all areas of the sex industry.Oxford English Dictionary, "sex worker" According to one view, sex work is vo ...
who have been pushing for legalisation of their profession to get themselves covered under labour laws, but have received no government attention, deciding to go for NOTA. What is unclear is whether so far this protest has translated into compensatory action by the elected Government. However, while passing the NOTA ruling, the
Chief Justice of India The chief justice of India (CJI) is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of India and the highest-ranking officer of the Indian judiciary. The Constitution of India grants power to the President of India to appoint, as recommended by the outg ...
, P. Sathasivam, was quoted as stating,
Giving right to a voter not to vote for any candidate while protecting his right of secrecy is extremely important in a democracy. Such an option gives the voter the right to express his disapproval of the kind of candidates being put up by the parties. ''Gradually, there will be a systemic change'' and the parties will be forced to accept the will of the people and field candidates who are known for their integrity.”.
A number of groups and individuals have been conducting voter awareness campaigns about NOTA. Recent year election results have shown an increasing trend of people choosing NOTA. It has been observed that some of the highest NOTA votes polled are consistently seen in Reserved Constituencies (Constituencies that, based on their demographic composition, are required to field only candidates from Reserved Categories to contest elections). This could be interpreted as a refusal of general category voters to vote for an SC/ST candidate - a scenario where NOTA is being misused to uphold caste-based bias. While on the one hand, more votes for NOTA could be interpreted as more expression of the prevailing dissatisfaction in the electorate, there is also the danger that the underlying cause is ignorance about the candidates, uninformed and irresponsible voting, or expression of bias on the basis of caste, as seen in the case of Reserved Constituencies. Thus, while NOTA is definitely providing a voice to dissent, it needs to be accompanied with efforts to raise voter awareness to prevent the misuse of this measure. In 2018,
Maharashtra State Election Commission Maharashtra State Election Commission is an independent agency of Government of Maharashtra established on 26 April 1994. It conducts rural and urban local body elections in the state of Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the west ...
(MSEC) said that if NOTA received the maximum votes in an assembly constituency, then none of the contesting candidates will be declared elected and fresh elections will be held. In 2021, Supreme Court asked Election Commission if it is legally permissible to reject all candidates in an election where NOTA votes win the highest number of votes. In 2022,
Delhi State Election Commission Delhi State Election Commission is an Autonomy, autonomous and statutory body constituted in Indian state of Delhi for ensuring that elections are conducted in free, fair and unbiased way. Constitution of India with provisions as per Article 24 ...
announced that if NOTA gained the highest vote, then the results will not be immediately declared but report will be sent to State Election Commission. Then the State Election Commission will declare new elections on the concerning seats.


Suggested Improvements

There have been discussions to improve on NOTA, and to empower the voter through NOTA. Some of those suggested improvements include: #If NOTA receives the highest number of votes, re-election should be held in that constituency with new candidate or, that constituency should be ruled by the Governor. #When conducting re-elections, the NOTA button may be disabled to avoid a series of re-elections. #Political parties that lose to NOTA to bear the cost of re-election. #The candidates who lose to NOTA should not be allowed to contest elections for a defined period of time. #Candidates receiving votes less than NOTA to be disqualified to contest any election in future, even in constituencies where NOTA might not have got maximum votes. #To make NOTA a virtual representative of the constituency, if the votes polled for NOTA is the majority vote. #To conduct re-election, if the votes polled for NOTA is higher than the winning margin of votes. There have been PILs filed to strengthen the impact of NOTA in 2016 and 2017 by providing it the Power to Reject (asking for re-elections) if NOTA wins majority and barring the rejected candidates from contesting. However, the Supreme Court responded to these PILs by stating that such a solution is unworkable and that "holding an election in our country is a very serious and expensive business". But voicing another line of opinion, Sanjay Parikh, a Supreme Court advocate who argued for PUCL in favour of NOTA, had stated in a 2013 interview:
Some people argue that the implementation of NOTA will drive up election expenses. But a tainted candidate who indulges in corruption and malpractices is a greater cost for the country. It is only the desire to continue in power and the greed for money that take prominence over values.


NOTA in local elections

Section 79 (d) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, recognises "electoral right" to also include the right to "refrain from voting at an election". 'The Representation of People Act' is applicable to "...either House of Parliament or in the House or either House of the Legislature of a State..." It is not applicable to elections for panchayats and
urban local bodies In India, the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), also called municipalities, are self-government institutions responsible for the administration of cities, towns, and transitional areas within a state or Union Territory. The 74th amendment to the Const ...
. However, several states has implemented it by amending their Acts. NOTA was not included in the 2015 Kerala panchayat elections. In 2018, the State Election Commission (SEC) of Maharashtra studied local body elections over the previous two years, and found several cases where NOTA had won more votes than the winning candidates. To cite some examples: In the Bori gram panchayat polls in the Pune district, NOTA polled 85.57% votes; in the Mankarwadi gram panchayat polls in same district, 204 of a total 330 valid votes went to NOTA. The sarpanch of Khugaon Khurd in Nanded district got just 120 votes while NOTA had got 627 of the total 849 votes. Similarly, in a local election in the Khavadi village in Lanja tehsil, the winning candidate got 130 votes of 441 valid votes, while NOTA polled 210 votes. Considering this, the Maharashtra SEC decided to consider amending the existing laws on NOTA. In November 2018, the SEC announced that if NOTA gets the maximum votes in an election, re-elections would be held. The order would be applicable to polls and by-polls to all municipal corporations, municipal councils and nagar panchayats with immediate effect. If NOTA gets the highest number of votes in the re-election as well, the candidate with the most votes, excluding NOTA, will be declared the winner. However, the rejected candidates are not barred from re-elections. The Haryana SEC followed suit too, declaring in November 2018 that NOTA would be treated as a fictional candidate and re-elections would be conducted if NOTA won the majority vote in the upcoming Municipal Elections in December 2018.


See also

Combined Approval Voting Combined approval voting (CAV) is an electoral system where each voter may express approval, disapproval, or indifference toward each candidate. The winner is the candidate with the highest score, which is determined by subtracting the number of ap ...


References

People of Navi Mumbai decided to vote for NOTA in 2019 election https://www.facebook.com/aagrikoliyouthfoundation/photos/rpp.535253953299655/1375657239259318/?type=3&theater {{Indian elections Elections in India Electronic voting Electoral reform in India Vote counting