During the Lok Sabha elections, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, indicate a significant number of votes for NOTA (None of the Above). By noon on Tuesday, NOTA had garnered over 1.4 lakh votes, according to data from the Election Commission of India (ECI).
As of 12 noon, 1,44,842 NOTA votes had been cast in Indore. Introduced in September 2013 following a Supreme Court decision, NOTA allows voters to officially register a “vote of rejection” for all candidates contesting in an election. This option is particularly notable this election cycle, as it appears to be a significant factor in Indore.
Indore had 14 candidates in the fray, with the main battle emerging between BJP’s sitting MP Shankar Lalwani and NOTA, as reported by PTI. Voting took place on May 13, with 61.75 percent of the 25.27 lakh electors participating.
The Congress, which was effectively removed from the race after its candidate withdrew, predicted on Monday that NOTA would secure as many as two lakh votes. On April 29, Congress candidate Akshay Kanti Bam withdrew his nomination, marking the first time in Indore’s 72-year electoral history that the Congress had no representation in the polls. The Congress described this situation as the “strangling of democracy” and urged voters to choose NOTA to send a message to the BJP.
“This time, NOTA will get at least two lakh votes in Indore. This national record will go down in history. It will be a lesson for political parties like BJP which strangle democracy,” stated senior Congress leader Shobha Oza.
As of the latest ECI data, BJP’s Shankar Lalwani had received 8,02,755 votes, leading with a margin of 6,57,913 votes. This development underscores a significant shift in voter sentiment, influenced by the absence of a Congress candidate and the strategic appeals to use the NOTA option.
According to a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and National Election Watch (NEW), the previous highest number of NOTA votes in a Lok Sabha election was 51,660 in the Gopalganj (SC) constituency in Bihar, making Indore’s current NOTA count particularly noteworthy.
