The use of None of the Above (NOTA) option in the parliamentary polls this time has been higher than expected by political parties, the political observers here have said. Almora constituency saw the highest number of NOTA users at 15,245 with Haridwar witnessing the lower number of NOTA users at 3,049. With 8,659 voters using the NOTA option in the Garhwal parliamentary constituency, after the first three candidates of the BJP, Congress and BSP, the number of voters opting for NOTA is higher than the votes polled by the seven remaining candidates who contested from this constituency.
The Garhwal parliamentary constituency comprises 14 assembly constituencies- six in Pauri district, two each in Rudraprayag and Tehri districts, three in Chamoli district and one in Nainital district. The number of NOTA users in some of these assembly constituencies includes 462 in Yamkeshwar, 552 in Pauri, 762 in Srinagar, 638 in Chaubattakhal, 439 in lansdowne, 425 in Kotdwar and 600 in Ramnagar. The NOTA option was used by voters only in the six assembly constituencies in Pauri district and in the Ramnagar assembly constituency in Nainital district.