More Mumbaikars vote for no-vote

This Assembly elections threw up a surprise when it came to the option of no-vote or protest vote.

This Assembly elections threw up a surprise when it came tou00a0 the option of no-vote or protest vote.

While approximately 850 people in Maharashtra had chosen the no-vote option in the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year, social organisations campaigning for the no-vote option said that the number was much larger this election.

AGNI member James John, who participated in the campaign and cast a no-vote said, "The exact number of no-votes is not available as of now, but we observed that a large number opted for it."
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Kalpesh Vora from the NGO Kranti Sanstha said, "When we ran a campaign for 100 per cent voting, we realised that people don't want to vote for anybody.
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PROTEST VOTE: Members of NGO Kranti Sanstha campaign for no-vote option.

So we urged them to go for no-vote rather than waste their vote. The problem is that it is not anonymous."

Viny Sebastian, a college lecturer, said, "I exercised this option, as I want only credible candidates to contest elections."

What's no-vote?

The None Of The Above (NOTA) option, commonly known as no-vote or protest vote, can be exercised under section 49 (O) of the conduct of election rules.

Under this section, the polling officials will give the voter a slip on which the voter can sign stating that he does not wish to vote for any of the candidates.

The no-vote numbers are included when the voter turnout is calculated.