CHENNAI: The number of voters who opted for the None of the Above (NOTA) option in the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) has come down in Tamil Nadu in the just-concluded Lok Sabha elections when compared to the 2019 general elections. In 2019, 5.47 lakh (1.27%) of voters opted for the NOTA in the State and in the current elections, 4,67,068 voters (1.07%) have adopted NOTA.
In Sriperumbudur constituency, highest number of voters (26,450) have adopted for NOTA followed by the voters in the following constituencies: Dindigul (22,120), Tiruvallur (18,978), Tiruppur (17,737), Tenkasi (17,165); Kancheepuram (16,965), and Chennai South (15,653). In the Kanyakumari constituency, the lowest number of voters (3,756) opted for NOTA.
The NOTA option which was made available in the EVMs in 2013 following a verdict of the Supreme Court, initially received a 'heroic response' from the voters as it is seen as an opportunity for them to register their protest if they do not like any of the candidates contesting in a particular election. However, in every election, the number of voters who are opting for this option is dwindling.
A total of 24,591 voters opted for the 49-O option (zero vote or negative vote) in the 2011 Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu to declare that they did not like any of the candidates in the fray. In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, 18,162 voters opted for Zero Vote. After the SC verdict, in Tamil Nadu, the NOTA button was introduced in EVMs in 2013 for the first time in the Yercaud by-election.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, people overwhelmingly responded to the NOTA. A whopping 5.81 lakh voters (1.43%) opted for the NOTA in the State. In that election, NOTA secured the highest number of votes, i.e., 46,559 in the Nilgiris constituency. The number of voters who opted for NOTA was more than the votes polled by smaller parties in this election. In the 2021 Assembly elections, the number came down to 3.45 lakh (0.75%).
Political analysts are of the view that the consistent campaign that the NOTA option did not serve the purpose for which it was introduced. The NOTA button in the EVMs was welcomed to discourage the political parties from fielding candidates with questionable backgrounds. But such candidates continue to be fielded. Experts have also expressed the view that the NOTA option would be meaningful only when the votes polled by this option have some value.