Indore Makes History: Record 2.18L NOTA Votes, BJP Wins by 11.75L Margin

 

NOTA vote 

Indore Makes History: Record 2.18L NOTA Votes, BJP Wins by 11.75L Margin

          Indore made history on Tuesday with the highest-ever NOTA (None of the Above) votes in India, reaching 2,18,674, surpassing Bihar's Gopalganj's record in 2019. Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party's Shankar Lalwani won the Lok Sabha polls from Madhya Pradesh's Indore with a significant margin of 11,75,092 votes.

All 13 candidates running against Lalwani in Indore lost their security deposits, indicating clear rejection by the voters. NOTA secured 16.28% of the total votes cast.

The Congress called for NOTA support after their candidate withdrew, leading to their absence from the contest. Only 51,659 votes went to Lalwani's nearest rival, Lakshman Solanki of the BSP.

Out of 25.27 lakh eligible voters, 61.75% voted in Indore, with 13,43,294 valid ballots. In 2019, 5,045 voters opted for NOTA.

Since its introduction in 2013, NOTA has been an option on the Electronic Voting Machine, allowing voters to reject all candidates. The BJP has dominated the Indore seat for 35 years.

Lalwani stated that NOTA's performance, supported by Congress, didn't even match half of their rival party's votes from 2019, indicating Indore's rejection of Congress.

Congress leader Shobha Oza hailed the NOTA votes as a response to BJP's disregard for democracy. Former Chief Election Commissioner O P Rawat described NOTA's impact as "symbolic," suggesting it needs over 50% votes to influence election results.