The share of NOTA votes in the Gujarat elections fell by more than nine percent from 2017. According to data from the Election Commission of India, 5,01,202 or 1.5 percent votes polled this election in Gujarat were NOTA. The number was 5,51,594 in the 2017 assembly elections.
A NOTA or "None of the above" option allows voters to indicate that they do not wish to vote for any of the available options.
This year, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) bagged 156 seats out of the 182-seat Gujarat Legislative Assembly, breaking its own record. It garnered a vote share of nearly 53 percent, which was the highest for the party in the western state.
In Himachal Pradesh, the NOTA vote share was 0.60 percent. The Congress Party won 40 out of 68 seats and BJP bagged 25 seats. Overall, the Aam Aadmi Party was only able to bag 1.1 percent votes in the Himachal Pradesh assembly election. Moreover, in several constituencies AAP secured lesser votes than the NOTA option.
In 2017, the NOTA vote share in the 2017 assembly election of Himachal Pradesh was 0.9 percent. Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the fact that neither election required a re-poll of votes in his speech to BJP party workers yesterday.
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The most number of NOTA votes, 7,331, were polled in Khedbrahma where Dr. Tushar Amarsinh Chaudhary of the Congress party won. They were followed by 5,213 in Danta and 5,093 in Chhota Udaipur.
The Devgadhbaria seat saw 4,821 NOTA votes, Shehra 4,708, Nizar 4,465, Bardoli 4,211, Daskroi 4,189, Dharamppur 4,189, Choryasi 4,169, Sankheda 4,143, Vadodara City 4,022 and Kaprada 4,020, among others.
The BJP, which bagged 99 seats in the 2017 Assembly polls with a 49.1 percent vote share, surpassed its previous best showing of 127 seats in 2002 when Narendra Modi was the chief minister.
With inputs from PTI.
