NOTA

The introduction of NOTA happened due to the efforts of the Election Commission of India and that too in the year 2013 in December. So, what is NOTA, one might ask? The main abbreviation of NOTA stands for None of The Above. With the help of NOTA, the voters will have the right to reject any and all of the candidates that have been a part of the constituency in case they feel that none of the contestants tend to deserve the post for which the election is being held. While the implications of NOTA seem to be pretty large, it is seen that the effect of NOTA doesn’t seem to be that much when it comes to making a difference in the results of the elections that are being held in the country.

Nonetheless, it is a very important part of the entire voting system and hence people need to know about it in great detail. With the help of this article, people will be able to get more information on this category of the voting system.

What Exactly is NOTA?

When it comes to defining NOTA, it can be said that it is a voting category that is meant to provide a choice to the people who want to select none of the candidates in the election system. The abbreviation of NOTA is said to be “None of The Above”. It means that people who don’t want to cast their votes for the people who are contesting for the position will have to choose NOTA. This way, none of the above-mentioned candidates will get the vote.

There are so many instances where people have several complaints about the candidates that are contesting in the elections. Some of the local issues such as water, electricity, criminal records, as well as the condition of the area tend to be some reasons why people don’t want to select the candidates in the first place. So, how can one register the protests that they have against the candidates? Well, in that case, the empowerment of the people’s voice comes from the NOTA button that is included in the election system these days. With the help of the NOTA option, people can now easily reject all of the people who are contesting as candidates for the elections. NOTA has been introduced by the Election Commission of India in order to ensure that all the people get to cast their vote according to their needs and requirements in the best way.

NOTA is offering a proper right to the voters of a particular constituency to not vote for any of the contesting candidates in the election. They will push the NOTA button and their vote will be cast. However, one important thing to keep in mind is that the NOTA votes are counted for the election but they are also considered to be votes that are illegal. While these will be counted, they do not have a role to play in the results of the election. So, now the question arises what happens if NOTA wins. In such a case, the candidate that is contesting with the largest number of votes against NOTA will be declared the winner.

How did NOTA Begin in the Voting Systems?

It is often seen that most of the voters these days can’t seem to find a candidate that suits their needs and requirements. The constituency, hence, consists of candidates that are undeserving and not pleasing the people at all. Hence, most people often tend to boycott the entire election term and not give their votes. However, there is a legal obligation for the citizens to cast their votes as not doing so can lead to some problems as well.

There are often cases of tampering with votes as people who don’t vote for the candidates tend to leave the spot open for fraudsters who cast the votes in their name to the proposed candidates of their choice. In this situation, NOTA seems to be the right choice to make. In order to provide some sort of empowerment to the voters all over the country, it was a decision made by the Election Commission of India to include this particular voting category of NOTA in the election system. Nowadays, most Electronic Voting Machines tend to have the option of NOTA in them. Those who think that none of the candidates deserve the position for which the election is being held, can press the NOTA button and cast their votes.

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NOTA was first used properly during the assembly election of 2013 in the states of Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Mizoram. So, these are some details you need to know about what is NOTA.

Is NOTA Effective? What is the Use of NOTA?

According to the Former Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi "If 99 out of 100 votes are given to NOTA and just a single vote is given to a candidate then this candidate will be declared the winner.” Here is another example to prove the point that we are trying to make here. In case the security measures of all of the different candidates that are contesting in the Lok Sabha or the Assembly elections are forfeited, the candidate that tends to have the maximum number of votes will be declared as the winner of the election.

It is seen so many different times that NOTA tends to have more votes than the different candidates that are contesting. So, one might ask what happens if NOTA wins. Well, in such cases, the candidate that will get the most votes in the election will be declared the winner. A very similar case is seen in Gujarat, where NOTA tends to get more votes than the other political parties. However, BJP and Congress are excluded from the list since they also tend to get more votes than NOTA. In some cases, the victory margin tends to be a lot less and hence the candidate wins just by a small number. However, in some cases, the victory margin tends to be large and that win is something completely different for the candidates.

So, when we talk about the importance of NOTA, it can be said that it is basically just a means to provide the people who are casting their vote a choice to reject the candidates if they want to. It is just providing a voice to the people and what they think about the candidates in the first place. We all are familiar with the fact that NOTA votes are just illegal in the counting process. There is still a selection of the candidate for the assembly as well as the Lok Sabha elections. However, people will be able to make their very own choice when they are electing the people that they want or don’t want in that particular position in the election.

It is seen recently that the NOTA vote has been provided with the status of the Fictional Electoral Candidate. In case all of the candidates tend to receive fewer votes than NOTA, the elections are canceled and the candidates will have to compete for their position again. So, this is basically the importance of NOTA that people definitely need to know about.

Conclusion

It can be said without a single speck of doubt that the inclusion of NOTA in the election system was a very bold move made by the Election Commission of India. With the right to vote for NOTA, the people now have the chance to make their very own choice in the selection of the candidates of their own choice. This will further lead to the strengthening of democracy in the best way. Political parties will be more inclined towards solving the issues and problems that are faced by the voters of the country.