LS polls: Over 5,727,987 voters use Nota

Bangalore, May 16: Not all voters chose mainstream political parties this election. At least 1.1% voters across the country used None of the Above Option to reject all candidates contesting the election..

The Election Commission website says at least 5,727,987 people used NOTA option (As at 7:15 pm) in the 16th Lok Sabha elections. The Nota was introduced in last September by Supreme Court of India which upheld the right of voters to reject all candidates contesting the elections. The apex court said Nota is a step towards cleansing the political system of the country.

In Uttar Pradesh, 587801 people used Nota while in Tamil Nadu, the number is 517306. In Rajasthan, 327893 people used Nota option, says EC website. In West Bengal, 563416 people used NOTA.

In Vadodara constituency in Gujarat, where Narendra Modi defeated Congress' Madhusudan Mistry, Nota vote figure came third, after those of BJP and Congress. The percentage of NOTA votes cast in Gujarat is higher than the national average of 1.1 per cent.

Here are the numbers for other states and UTs:

Kerala: 1.2%,210561 votes

Karnataka: 0.8%,257628 votes

Andhra Pradesh 0.7%,275006 votes

Himachal Pradesh: 0.9%,28456 votes

Odisha: 1.7%,254188 votes

Bihar 1.7%,,533012 votes

Assam 1.1%,146561 votes

Chandigarh 0.7%,2755 votes

Punjab: 0.4%,58673 votes

Haryana: 0.3%,31165 votes

Arunachal Pradesh 1.2%,3376 votes

Mizoram: 1.5%,6495 votes

Manipur: 0.5%,6736 votes

Meghalaya: 2.8%,30145 votes

Madhya Pradesh: 1.4%,391797 votes

Maharashtra: 0.9%,426713 votes

Gujarat: 1.8%,454884 votes

Jammu and Kashmir: 0.9%,28838 votes

Delhi: 0.5%,39685 votes

Uttarakhand: 1.1%,48043 votes

Jharkhand: 1.5%,81823 votes

Chhattisgarh 2.1%,142139 votes

Goa: 1.2%,10103 votes

Andaman and Nicobar 0.8%,818 votes

Lakshadweep: 0.3%,123 votes

Dadra Nagar Haveli: 1.7%,2411 votes

Puducherry: 3.0%,22268 votes

Daman and Diu: 1.5%,1316 votes

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