Guwahati: The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), a poll rights organisation on Thursday reported that 1.29 crore votes for NOTA were cast in state and federal elections over the previous five years.
According to the study, NOTA received 64,53,652 votes on average during the state assembly elections.
According to the study, NOTA received 65,23,975 votes overall, or 1.06 percent.
According to a PTI report, the Gopalganj (SC) constituency in Bihar received the most NOTA votes during the Lok Sabha elections—51,660—while Lakshadweep received the least—100.
Bihar (7,06,252 votes) and NCT Delhi (1,49,360 votes) state assembly elections in 2020 had the largest percentage of votes won by NOTA (1.46 percent, or 7,49,360 votes) (43,108 votes).
In the combined assembly elections for the five states of Goa (10,629 votes), Manipur (10,349 votes), Punjab (1,10,308 votes), Uttar Pradesh (6,37,304 votes), and Uttarakhand (46,840 votes), NOTA received the fewest votes in 2022, or 0.70 percent (8, 15,430 votes), according to the study.
In the 2019 state assembly elections, Maharashtra received the most NOTA votes (7,42,134), while the Mizoram Assembly Elections received the fewest (2,917).
NOTA received the highest proportion of votes cast (1.98%) in the 2018 Chhattisgarh state assembly, according to the statement.
The ADR study also stated that NOTA received the least number of votes, 0.46 percent, in the Mizoram State Assembly Elections of 2018 and the Delhi State Assembly Elections of 2020.
In terms of individual districts, NOTA received as much as 27,500 votes in the Maharashtra district of Latur Rural and as few as nine votes in the Arunachal Pradesh district of Tali.
In a few Arunachal Pradesh constituencies, including Dirang, Along East, Yachuli, and the one in Nagaland known as Northern Angami, the candidate had no opposition, hence NOTA received no votes.
NOTA has received 26,77,616 votes (26.77 lakhs) in state assembly elections since 2018, according to the ADR, in Red Alert Constituencies when three or more politicians are running who have criminal charges.
NOTA received 1.63 percent of the vote (6,11,122) in Bihar’s 217 red alert constituencies, according to the statement.
The ADR has suggested that no candidates be declared elected and that a new election be held in which none of the previous candidates are permitted to run if the votes cast for NOTA in any constituency are more than the votes cast for all of the contending candidates.