At 1.2 per cent, Goa used the NOTA option most

It was Goa that used the None of the Above button on the EVM machine the most. 1.2 per cent of the voters used the option to say that they did not want any of the candidates to win the elections.

Goa was followed by Uttarakhand with 1 per cent and Uttar Pradesh with 0.9 per cent. In Punjab it was 0.7 per cent while in Manipur it was 0.5 per cent. In Goa, the elections threw up a hung verdict. The Congress however has a slight edge in Goa.

In UP, 0.9 per cent or 11,22,07 have exercised this option. The total number of voters in Uttar Pradesh is 134,351,297. The state has a total of 403 constituencies. Prior to the elections there were reports that the power of the NOTA was being underestimated in the state of UP.

NOTA is a ballot option that a voter can chose instead of giving their vote to any of the candidates. In the year 2009, the Election Commission of India had asked the Supreme Court to offer this option on the EVMs. The government had however opposed the same. But the SC ruled that every voter must have the right to register a NOTA. The option has been available since 2013.

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