Journalism of Courage
It was touted as the official tool for voters to express their disapproval of the candidates put up by political parties. In Delhi and Rajasthan,where the majority voted against the incumbent government,the NOTA (None of the Above) votes accounted for 0.63 per cent and 1.92 per cent respectively of the total valid votes. In Madhya Pradesh,the figure stood at 1.9 per cent,while it was 3.08 per cent in Chhattisgarh.
In Naxal-hit areas like Dantewada,there were 9,677 NOTA votes more than Congress candidate Devati Karmas winning margin of 5,987 votes. Karma is the widow of Congress leader Mahendra Karma,who was killed in the Maoist attack in May. In Bastar,there were 5,529 NOTA votes,and in Bijapur 7,179 votes (around 10 per cent of the votes polled there). Incidentally,the Maoists had called for a boycott of the Chhattisgarh elections and had also advocated use of NOTA.
For AAP candidate Shazia Ilmi,who lost the R K Puram seat in Delhi to BJPs Anil Sharma by 326 votes,the 528 NOTA votes there probably made a difference.
In Delhi,49,892 voters opted for NOTA ranging from 296 votes in Central Delhis Matia Mahal,where Shoaib Iqbal of the JD(U) defeated the Congress candidate,to 1,426 votes in West Delhis Vikaspuri,where Mahinder Yadav of the AAP defeated the BJP candidate by a thousand-odd votes. In the New Delhi seat,where AAPs Arvind Kejriwal defeated Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit,around 460 voters opted for NOTA.
In Rajasthan,5,88,609 voters chose NOTA,translating to about 1.92 per cent of the valid votes. Even BJP leader Vasundhara Rajes constituency of Jhalarapatan saw 3,729 NOTA votes,while Ashok Gehlots Sardarpura saw 1,779 voters opting for it.
In Madhya Pradesh,while Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan won from both Vidisha and Budhni,the two seats saw 2,247 and 1,368 NOTA voters respectively.
