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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Bengal tops in Nota votes -Meghdeep Bhattacharyya

Bengal tops in Nota votes -Meghdeep Bhattacharyya

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published Published on May 20, 2016   modified Modified on May 20, 2016
-The Telegraph

Calcutta: A young man who flew in from Delhi for 16 hours just to cast his vote has provided a clue why Bengal has recorded the highest number of votes under the Nota (none of the above) option among the five poll-bound states.

The man in his 30s, who works with a global watchmaker, said he spent Rs 20,000 on air tickets to cast a Nota vote because not one political party had impressed him with its declared programme for the next five years.

"I did not want my vote wasted or stolen, nor did I want any of the candidates in Bhowanipore (the chief minister's constituency) as my representative," he told The Telegraph, declining to be quoted for fear of his family's safety.

Election Commission data show that Bengal recorded 831,845 Nota votes, or 1.5 per cent of the total votes cast. Tamil Nadu registered 560,533 Nota votes or 1.3 per cent, Assam counted 189,066 or 1.1 per cent, and Kerala 107,239 or 0.5 per cent.

Puducherry topped in percentage terms, counting 13,240 Nota votes or 1.7 per cent.

Nota, also known as "against all" or a "scratch" vote, had debuted with the 2014 general election. At that time, about 1 per cent of those who voted in Bengal used this option.

"This year it has reached 1.5 per cent, a significant increase from 2014," a senior government official who had been on election duty said.

Some officials speculated that the increase in Nota votes reflected the younger generation's loss of faith in political parties across the spectrum.

"I think the younger generation is more inclined to press the Nota button because none of the parties has succeeded in striking a chord with them," an official said.

"During the campaign, the ruling party had failed to project convincingly that it would create jobs while the Opposition could not present a credible alternative model."

Some voters said rather optimistically that an increase in Nota votes might force the political parties to rethink their programmes and field better candidates.

"I think that 1.5 per cent of votes is huge.... No party would like to lose these votes, so they have to rethink their programmes before the next election," said Sabyasachi Mondal, bank employee and voter from Entally, Calcutta.

The Telegraph, 20 May, 2016, http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160520/jsp/nation/story_86640.jsp#.Vz6x_uQ1t_k


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