With the rising graph of NOTA (none of the above) in the elections in the country, the Association for Democratic Rights (ADR) and National Election Watch (NEW) have recommended that in any constituency if the votes polled for NOTA are higher than all the contesting candidates, no candidate should be declared as elected and fresh election should be held in which none of the earlier candidates should be allowed to contest.
Incidentally Bihar top on the list of States where NOTA was polled maximum votes in Assembly election in 2015. Among the 28 States and UTs surveyed Bihar gave 9.47 lakh votes to NOTA which was 2.08 percent of the total votes polled.
Introduced in 2013 following a Supreme Court judgment, the NOTA in the last five years secured over 1.33 crore votes in State Assemblies and lok Sabha election in 2014. In the by-elections in Goa, Delhi and Andhra Pradesh, a large number of people voted for NOTA making its vote share the third or fourth highest in the respective constituencies. In bypolls in Panaji and Valpoi in Goa NOTA secured third position and in by-polls in Bawana in Delhi and Nandyal in Andhra Pradesh, it was placed fourth position.
NOTA was introduced in lok Sabha election in 2014 and it secured. 60.03 lakh votes with highest number of votes in one constituency was 46,559 votes in Nilgris constituency in Tamil Nadu.
The report suggested that NOTA was more popular and favourite button on EVM in Red Alert constituencies where three or more candidates with criminal cases contest. NOTA secured 22.95 lakh votes in such constituencies since elections after the Supreme Court order on September 27, 2013 directing the Election commission of India for making provision of NOTA in the EVM so that the voters who come to polling stations and decide not to vote for any of the candidates in the fray are able to exercise their right not to vote while maintaining their right to secrecy. The provision of NOTA button was first implemented in the Assembly elections of Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Rajasthan, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh in 2013.