BENGALURU: Bengaluru topped the list for polling the highest number of votes for NOTA (None of The Above) in the Karnataka assembly elections 2023, said the recently-released Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) report.
Mahadevapura, Bangalore South, KR Puram, Rajarajeshwari Nagar, Yeshwanthpur, Bommanahalli, Byatarayanapura and Padmanabhanagar constituencies were among the top 10 on the list for the highest votes polled for NOTA.Out of 3,91,54,967 votes polled for the Karnataka election, 2,69,763 (0.69%) went to NOTA this time.
The category of NOTA was introduced in 2013, stating that it was important for a democracy and that introducing a NOTA button can increase public participation in an electoral process, and amounts to participation in democracy itself. Non-participation causes frustration and disinterest, which is not a healthy sign of a growing democracy like India, the ADR report stated.
Bengaluru has consistently had the lowest voter turnout in the elections, and the high number of votes polled for NOTA shows the cynical behaviour of the urban population, said Professor Sandeep Shastri, national coordinator, Lokniti Network. He said people’s approach to politics is very different, and they believe all politicians are corrupt and have no hope in politics, without realising that it is actually a mirror of society, he added.
Another political analyst, Rajendra Chenni, said that the salaried class remains unaffected by the decision of which political party comes to power.