NOTA option in pink for Assembly polls, white during Lok Sabha polls

New Delhi, Nov 4: The 'None Of The Above' (NOTA) option will be printed in pink on EVMs/ballot papers for the upcoming

in five states although for the

next year, it will appear in white.

Making the NOTA symbol public on Monday, Election Commission said its depiction was approved as a rectangle with rounded corners on a black background on which NOTA is written in capital letters in English.

The words "None of the Above" and 'NOTA' will be printed in pink for the Assembly elections but, for Parliamentary polls, the option would be printed in white. The reason being that the ballot paper for Lok Sabha polls is also printed in white.

EC has directed that while "None of the Above" will be printed in words in various local languages in different areas, the symbol itself would universally appear as 'NOTA' to maintain consistency. Having finalised the symbol, EC has notified the same and sent it to the Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) of all states for them to take further action in that regard.

Consequent to a Supreme Court ruling allowing voters to exercise the NOTA option, EC will provide the same for voters in the upcoming Assembly polls and in all future polls.

NOTA will be written in capital letters in English, with black background.

Below the name of the last candidate on the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM), EC will now provide the NOTA option for electors who do not wish to vote for any of the candidates in the fray for a particular seat.

EC has already clarified that the candidate securing the highest number of votes would be declared elected even if the number of electors going for the NOTA option surpassed the votes polled by the contestants.

A total of 11 crore voters in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Mizoram will use the option of "None of the Above" for the first time ever in the December elections.

PTI