With NOTA option being introduced for the first time and over 10,000 people expressing their dissatisfaction over the available choice of candidates political analysts were left perplexed
VIBHA VERMA
PANJIM: Though the recent Lok Sabha polls have thrown up a clear verdict, stunning number of people pressing None of the Above (NOTA) button has triggered a debate in the State. More than 10,000 people from both the constituencies actually walked to the counting centres to express their dissatisfaction over the available choice of candidates. The NOTA voters are close to the votes polled by Aam Admi Party (AAP) candidates and political heavyweights like Churchill Alemao.
Among the total 6,31,159 voters exercising their franchise, 10,103 were NOTA votes with majority 5770 in the north constituency. This is for the first time that the option of pressing NOTA was introduced by the Election Commission of India (ECI) giving a chance for the voters to state that they are not happy with the available candidates fielded by political parties and independents.
The political analysts themselves are left perplexed as such a large number of NOTA votes was unexpected. Former union minister of law Ramakant Khalap says that such a whopping number has come up despite the fact that new option was not much publicized by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
“There was hardly any propaganda about the use of NOTA, yet it was widely used which shows if the EC and even the media had to create awareness, it would have made more impact,” he said.
Constitutional expert Advocate Amrut Kansar who has been in the forefront to analyse State’s polity since last more than a decade feels that NOTA response indicates the failure of the democracy as the people don’t get the candidate of their liking.
“It did have good response but is it advisable?” he questioned. “Presently it does not have any effect as it only shows feelings of the people disapproving whatever is going on in the democratic set up. But if nobody is worth, then democracy fails… it has to function somehow or the other… People have to go for an alternative if they are not happy,” he opined.
Educationist and former State Election Commissioner Prabhakar Timble said a sizeable number of NOTA votes during the State assembly elections may change the situation unlike in the parliamentary polls, which was less than one percent of the total votes. “This is not of significance in the parliamentary elections as the constituency is sufficiently large. However, even three-to-five percent votes under NOTA in a State assembly segment may alter the balance on who makes it first-past-the-post,” he explained adding, “This facility of negative voting can be justified if voting is
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made compulsory by law. Otherwise it only pampers ego of voters, more particularly elite.”
Young lawyers like Galileo Teles defer from their viewpoints as he says if voters abstained from voting for any political party or candidates means they are not worthy to get power. “It is introspection time for the political parties as well the candidates about what went wrong due to which people did not want them… NOTA is a slow and systematic purifying process of the electoral process,” he commented.
With NOTA gaining mixed response in the State, yet another professional has shown her resentment towards this option. Lata Rajeev, lecturer with Don Bosco College considers this as waste of votes. “I am not much in favour of NOTA. Initially when it was introduced, I though it is something new but now I believe that a large number of votes are wasted when not cast for any particular party or candidate,” she said adding she did not and will neither opt for this NOTA button.
Chief Election Commissioner Keshav Chandra said the EC had been creating awareness for voting and not to vote for specific candidate or NOTA. “NOTA has been introduced in the electronic voting machines for the first time…We created awareness among the people to come out in large numbers to vote, and not about candidate or the new option,” he said.
