Even as various political outfits and individuals put their best foot forward to win the recently-concluded elections, there were as many as 1,54,423 voters in Punjab who rejected all the candidates at one go by pressing the NOTA (none of the above) button the EVMs (electronic voting machines) in May 19 elections.
In fact, NOTA occupied the fifth spot on almost all the constituencies of the state.
The figure has increased from 0.4 percent (58,754 votes) in 2014, when the NOTA was first introduced in the state, to 1.12 percent in 2019.
Faridkot Lok Sabha witnessed the maximum electors choosing NOTA — 19,246 which is 1.97 percent of the total votes polled — from where Congress’ Mohad Sadique defeated SAD’s Gulzar Singh Ranike, and Aam Aadmi Party’s sitting MP Prof Sadhu Singh.
If that is not enough, SAD (Taksali), a splinter group of SAD led by the Badals which contested elections on just two seats, faced a major embarrassment in Sri Anandpur Sahib because of NOTA.
Its candidate Bir Devinder Singh, the former Deputy Speaker of Punjab Vidhan Sabha, was lagged behind NOTA which secured 1.58 percent (17,135 votes) of the total votes polled. Bir Devinder, whose early declaration of candidature forced Taksalis to turn down the coalition offers by the AAP, Punjab Democratic Alliance (PDA) and the BSP, could managed just 10,424 (0.96 percent) votes, not even one percent.
Sehajdhari Sikh Federation president Dr Paramjeet Singh Ranu, who contested as an independent from Sri Anandpur Sahib, could garner just 1,316 (0.12 percent) votes.
In Ferozepur, from where SAD president Sukhbir Badal won the elections, 14,891 voted for NOTA, while 13,323 voters opted for NOTA in Bathinda, from where his Union Minister wife Harsimrat Badal secured a hat-trick.
As many as 13,045 voters voted for NOTA in Fatehgarh Sahib, followed by 12,868 in Hoshiarpur, 12,324 in Jalandhar, 11,110 in Patiala, 10,538 in Ludhiana, 9,560 in Gurdaspur, 8,763 in Amritsar, 6,490 in Sangrur and 5,130 in Khadoor Sahib.
Interestingly, the percentage of NOTA votes was more than the vote percentage of some political parties like CPI and CPM in the state. As against 1.12 per cent of votes in favour of NOTA, the vote percentage of CPI and
CPM was just 0.31 and 0.08 respectively.