Story so far: Recently, the Vidhi Legal Policy Center filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) because even if there is only one candidate, Nota is used as an option in every election.
When did Notta be introduced?
Nota or “no above” option was the first introduction of the PIL proposed by the People’s Union of Civil Liberties in India’s general election in 2013, which sought a mechanism to “recognize voters’ right to not vote but the confidentiality of the still-unvoted ones is not retained in its implementation…”
Is Nota related to India’s general election?
Indeed, in the last national election and subsequent other state-level elections, not many voters chose NOTA. However, since there is only one candidate, no elections are held in the constituency, which means denying that voters have the opportunity to comment (via Nota) on that single candidate who will have no objection choice (via Nota). The Election Commission (EC) opposed Nota and said that since not many voters chose Nota in past elections, they did not bring about the expected results. But, people should not forget that Nota is a way in which our electoral system can be more sensitive to people.
What is the argument of EC?
The EC completely objected to the idea of making Nota a mandatory choice for all constituencies, even if only one candidate was fighting for the election. The Election Commission presented data from all Lok Sabha elections held since 1971, with only six undisputed elections. Another data point cited by the EC is that since 1952, only nine candidates have been elected as unelected. “The undisputed opportunity for elections has become a rarity, and it is also proved by statistics; therefore, the Supreme Court should not even entertain such a PIL,” said the lawyer for the EC. They went on to argue: “Thinking of Notta as a strong competition for candidates in all direct and undisputed elections, without finding a seat in the statue, the same election would require legislative amendments in the representative provisions of the People’s Act of 1951, as well as the conduct of the 1961 election rules.”
Since this is so rare, the EC should not be full. If the EC can elect in such a large number of constituencies in its resources, it can elect in the constituency, even if there is only one candidate, it should not constitute much other work.
Are Nota voters a minority?
Indeed, since the introduction of Nota, only 1% of voters (2014, 2019 and 2024) have voted for the Nota, which is true. But given the size of voters in a parliamentary constituency, each voter has an average of about 2.5 million voters, even if those numbers are not small. In many state parliamentary elections, only over 1% have chosen Nota in the past decade, with the highest in Bihar at 2.48% in the 2015 General Assembly Elections followed by Gujarat, accounting for 1.8% in the 2017 General Assembly Elections. If people watched the Nota vote in different states over the years, it is thought that it was slightly higher in the first election held in the state after the Nota was introduced, but fell in subsequent elections, although the trend is not linear.
What’s next?
Some reforms are needed. It can be determined by determining that the candidate uses the minimum vote as the benchmark for the election by voting based on the size of the constituency. Another approach could be through the vote on the Nota and the legitimacy of voters, if a certain percentage of voters choose Nota in the election, then re-election will be performed.
Sanjay Kumar is professor and co-director Lokniti-CSD.
publishing – May 16, 2025 at 08:30 AM IST
