The Election Commission of India (ECI) has introduced ‘None of the above’ (NOTA) option in the electronic voting machines after the direction of the Supreme Court to allow the voter who has not chosen to vote for any party or candidate. This symbol appears in the last panel after all the candidates on all electronic voting machines (EVMs). This enables a voter to tender his vote of rejection for all the candidates contesting the elections with maintaining all secrecy about his identity. The Supreme Court opined that launching NOTA as an option would sustain the morals and ethics in the society by encouraging the voting behaviours.
The question to ponder is that whether the objective of introducing NOTA is achieved or not? Whether the NOTA button is used by the voters willingly or by accident? No one is paying any attention to these questions, but it is time to think seriously about this. To make my point clear, I will cite the example of Nabarangpur district in Odisha.
Nabarangpur district came into existence on October 2, 1992 as a result of the Government’s plans to bring administration close to the people. As per the 2011 Census, the total population of the district was 12,20,946, of which the SC and ST populations constituted 14.5% and 55.8%, respectively. The literacy percentage of the district is 46.4 against 72.9 of the State. The male literacy rate is 57.3 and the female literacy rate stands at 35.8%.
The district comprises four Assembly constituencies, Umerkote, Jharigam, Nabarangpur and Dabugam. Umerkote has 1,93,893 voters, of which 1,53,088 voters used their voting rights in the 2019 elections which comes around 78.95%. Six candidates contested the elections including NOTA which occupied fourth place with 4,181 votes accounting for 2.73% of the polled votes.
The Jharigam constituency has 2,14,429 voters, of which 1,74,696 voters exercised their voting rights which comes around 82.24%. Five candidates contested the elections in 2019 including NOTA which occupied fourth place with 5,689 votes accounting for 3.26% of the polled votes.
The Nabarangpur constituency has 2,31,464 voters, of which 1,87,789 voters used their franchise which was around 81.13%. Five candidates contested the elections including NOTA which occupied fifth place with 3,938 votes accounting for 2.1% of the polled votes.
The Dabugam constituency has 1,98,666 voters, of which 1,64,885 voters cast their votes which came to around 83%. Six candidates contested the elections including NOTA which occupied fourth place with 3,799 votes accounting for 2.3% of the polled votes.
Out of the total number of 8,38,452 voters in the district, 6,80,458 exercised their voting right which came to around 81.16%. It meant 18.84% or 1,57,994 electors avoided elections due to reasons beyond or within their control. This made it clear that the elections were not fully supported by all electors of the district.
However, this figure is not accurate as we have to add the NOTA figures to this. These electors voted, but they did not support any candidate. Around 17,607 voters in the district opted for NOTA as they were not in favour of any candidate and thereby rejected the process of election. Taking the district as a whole, 10.4% of the voters who participated in the election process displayed their dislike for the contestants. But we are not paying any attention to these people who are participating but not helping in choosing the right candidate.
The question to ponder is whether these voters chose NOTA intentionally or the button was pressed accidentally. Generally, the option of NOTA is used by literate and conscious voters. The doubt arises because most of the voters are illiterate and have no knowledge about the process of election and the operation of EVMs. Many of them are not aware of the distinction between the Assembly and Parliament elections. Some fail to identify the voting machine used for Assembly and for Parliament elections. In this state of confusion, they might have pressed the NOTA button accidentally. Similarly, most of the rural voters are not aware that there is an option like NOTA.
With a 46.4% literacy rate, Nabarangpur is the least literate district of Odisha. The literacy rate among the Scheduled Tribes is 38.5% and the female literacy is 28%, much lower in comparison to their counterparts. Similarly, the status of women in the literacy front is discouraging. In this background, there is every possibility of ignorance of the election process, the use of EVMs. So, the NOTA figures cannot be taken for granted.
This is not only limited to Nabarangpur but also all the other backward districts,
As the next elections are to be held in the near future, there is every need to educate the voters at the ground level with proper plan and sincerity. The role of the local self-government is more important here as they are close to the voters and can reach the last strata of the society. The ward members of gram panchayats and counsellors in the municipalities should take political literacy as a mission which will result in true democracy even in the remotest corners. The Electoral Clubs in the colleges will be of much help to create awareness among young voters. Similarly, hands-on training for the EVMs should be conducted at least four times in the election month to make the voters of the remotest areas understand the process of polling. The numbers of parties and their candidates participating should ensure that the voters are educated properly so that they can make the right and prudent decisions. Lack of knowledge may go against them some times as a willing voter also may commit mistake as to the identification of the right button. The government should make all-round efforts to make the voters politically literate, or else, the result of the elections may not be democratic.
(Dr Biswal is Principal, Nabarangpur College)