Kolkata: The “none of the above” (NOTA) option in the voting process has played as an important factor in diverting vote shares and determining the winning margin for some constituencies.
Among the 42 parliamentary constituency seats in Bengal, there are several constituencies where the number of NOTA votes has been in the range from 15,000 to 24,000.
There are four Lok Sabha constituencies, including Bankura, among the 42 constituencies where the number of NOTA votes are over 20,000.
Lok Sabha ElectionsAssembly ElectionsParty ViewAlliance View.cls-1, .cls-2, .cls-3 { fill: none; } .cls-1, .cls-4, .cls-5, .cls-6 { stroke-width: 0px; } .cls-2 { stroke: #b17979; stroke-miterlimit: 10; stroke-width: 1.2px; } .cls-2, .cls-3 { stroke-linecap: round; } .cls-7 { fill: #595959; font-family: Verdana, Verdana; font-size: 10px; } .cls-7, .cls-8, .cls-9, .cls-10, .cls-11, .cls-12 { isolation: isolate; } .cls-8 { fill: #000; font-family: ArialMT, Arial; } .cls-8, .cls-9, .cls-10 { font-size: 12px; } .cls-3 { stroke: #ccc; } .cls-4, .cls-9, .cls-10 { fill: #1a1a1a; } .cls-4, .cls-11 { display: none; } .cls-9, .cls-10 { font-family: Verdana-Bold, Verdana; font-weight: 700; } .cls-10 { letter-spacing: 0em; } .cls-6 { fill: #ccc; }Majority: 272543543Seats: 543 L + WNDA WONNDA293INDIA234OTH16View MapView DetailsSource: PvalueThe other three are Alipurduar with 21,235, Burdwan-Durgapur with 21,595 and Bolpur with 21,772 voters pressing the NOTA button as constituencies like Barasat, Darjeeling, Cooch Behar, Jangipur, Jhargram and Purulia registered over 15,000 NOTA votes.
In Bishnupur, where BJP’s Soumitra Khan was leading with a slender margin of 6,670 votes over Trinamool’s Sujata Mondal, the number of NOTA votes was 19,054 till reports last came in.
Significantly, the number of NOTA votes was more than the votes polled by four other candidates.
In Bankura, where Trinamool’s Arup Chakraborty won with a margin of 32,778 votes over his nearest rival, BJP’s Subhas Sarkar, the number of NOTA votes was 26,209, the fourth highest in the seat — more than the votes which the 10 other contestants individually polled. This is also the highest number of NOTA votes polled across all 42 constituencies in the state.
In Purulia, where BJP’s Jyotirmay Singh Mahato was leading with 16,603 votes over Trinamool’s Shantiram Mahato, the number of NOTA votes stood at 17,885 till reports last came in.
“Having the option of NOTA is good for any democracy. On the other hand, another thing which is important for a democracy is that what these voters could had done had there been no NOTA option,” said political analyst, Subhomoy Maitra.
“The results of this parliamentary elections and the large number of votes casted in favour of NOTA have reflected the mindset of a large number of voters over what they feel as the incompleteness of democracy,” he added.