NOTA to be provided in general elections

New Delhi, March 5:

will, for the first time, be able to exercise the "None of the Above" (

) option for candidates in the upcomming Lok Sabha polls, the Election Commission said on Wednesday.

Chief Election Commissioner V.S. Sampath said the entire election will be held using electronic voting machines (EVMs), and that the NOTA option will also be provided.

"The 2014 Lok Sabha polls shall be held with EVMs," he said, adding that appropriate instructions will be issued regarding the NOTA facility.

The option was first made available in the Novermber-December assembly polls in five states last year.

The Lok Sabha elections will involve a staggering 814 million voters, an increase of some 100 million from 2009, and a sharp rise from the 176 million in the first parliamentary polls of 1952.

IANS