'None of the above' (NOTA) option on EVM.
Credit: PTI File Photo
As Maharashtra is set to vote in single-phase on November 20, with the counting of the votes scheduled for November 23 along with Jharkhand, we take a look at how the NOTA option (none of the above), a ballot option that enables voters to officially register their votes of rejection for all candidates in the fray, performed in the last assembly election held in the state in 2019.
According to Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) data, which analysed the vote share for the 288 constituencies in the Maharashtra Assembly Elections in 2019, out of 5,51,49,929 votes polled in the elections in 2019, 7,42,134 (1.35 per cent) were polled for NOTA.
The Latur Rural constituency had the highest votes polled for NOTA, with 27,500 voters choosing the option. Out of the total 1,99,599 votes polled in the constituency, NOTA accounted for 13.78 per cent of the total votes.
The Palus-Kadegaon came second in the list of constituencies with highest NOTA votes. In 2019 Assembly elections, Palus-Kadegaon in Maharashtra polled 20,631 votes for NOTA, which accounted for 9.99 per cent of the total votes recorded in the constituency.
Other constituencies in the state where NOTA was exercised in record numbers include - Panvel (12,399), Jogeshwari East(12,031), Borivali( 10,095) Vekramgrth (8,495), Palghar (7,135), Murbad (6,783), Worli (6,305) and Kalyan Rural (6,092).
Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.
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