8 lakh voters in 5 states opted for NOTA: Election Commission

New Delhi, March 11

The Election Commission data on the Assembly elections in fives states showed that nearly eight lakh voters opted for the NOTA (None Of The Above) option, highest being in Goa (1.12%).

In Manipur, of the total voters, 10,349 or 0.6 per cent used the NOTA option. Similarly in Goa, 10,629 voters (1.12%) used the option.

In Uttar Pradesh, which has the maximum number of 403 Assembly seats, 6,21,186 voters or 0.69 per cent chose NOTA. In Uttarakhand, the number of voters who pressed the NOTA button on EVMs was 46,830 (0.87 per cent). In Punjab, 1,10,308 voters (0.71 per cent) opted for NOTA.

According to the data available with the Election Commission website, the total of NOTA votes stood at 7,99,302 in all five states.

The NOTA option on electronic voting machines, introduced in 2013, has its own symbol — a ballot paper with a black cross it.