Elections to the Lok Sabha in 2024: Why Wasn’t It Introduced? What Takes Place Should There Be More Votes Than Parties
Electronic voting machines (EVMs) provide a “None of the Above” (NOTA) option for voters who do not want to endorse any political candidate. This enables people to use their right to abstain from voting without having to disclose their choice.
Selecting NOTA indicates that the electorate has chosen not to support any specific party or candidate. In the event that NOTA wins a constituency with the most votes, the winner is announced as the candidate with the second-highest number of votes.
Voters had to complete Form 49-O at a polling station in order to reject all candidates prior to NOTA being integrated into Electronic voting Machines (EVMs). The voter’s choice’s confidentiality was jeopardized by this procedure, nevertheless.
AFTER NOTA WAS ANNOUNCED?
Following a September 27, 2013, ruling by the Supreme Court, NOTA was implemented in India. It was intended to deter political parties from nominating corrupt individuals.
Political parties will be compelled to present clean candidates as a result of negative voting, which will cause a systematic shift in polling. A court led by the former Chief Justice of India, P. Sathasivam, delivered the decision. “If the right to vote is a statutory right, then the right to reject a candidate is a fundamental right of speech and expression under the Constitution,” the judgment said.
The bench also mentioned that a number of other nations have a negative voting system. Members of Parliament may choose not to cast a ballot.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) was ordered by the court to install a NOTA button on every electronic voting machine (EVM).
The National Institute of Design (NID) in Ahmedabad created the NOTA symbol, which is shown on the final panel of all EVMs, and the electoral body subsequently adopted it.
QUANTUM GOT USED IN INDIA FIRST?
The NOTA option was first used in 2013 during the Assembly elections that took place in the Union Territory of Delhi as well as four states: Mizoram, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh. In the state elections, over 15 lakh voters used this option, with 3.56 lakh doing so in Chhattisgarh, 5.9 lakh in Madhya Pradesh, and 5.67 lakh in Rajasthan.
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