Rajasthan polls NOTA: 1.92 per cent of total votes cast

JAIPUR: Only 1.92 per cent of over three crore voters opted for the newly introduced None Of The Above (NOTA) at the Rajasthan assembly elections, the Election Commission said today.

Interestingly, the percentage of NOTA voters was high at the tribal belt as compared to the urban areas.

A maximum 5.75 per cent NOTA votes were in Pindwara Abu constituency (ST) where Samaram Garasia of BJP defeated Congress' Gangaben by a huge margin of 30855 votes. Chorasi (ST) constituency in Dungarpur district also registered five per cent participation, it said.

The NOTA voting was above 3.87 per cent in Dungarpur (ST), Aspur (ST), Bagidora (ST), Keshoraipatan (SC), Reodar (SC), Jhadol (SC) and Gogunda (ST) constituencies.

According to the EC, tribal district of Dungarpur in south Rajasthan tops the list of 33 districts where maximum NOTA voting was registered.

The Supreme Court had given the path-breaking verdict this September, holding that voters have a Right to Reject all candidates contesting polls in a constituency by exercising the NOTA option.

Following the court order, the Election Commission (EC) had introduced the option in poll-bound states of Mizoram, Delhi Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.

However, the apex court had refused to direct the EC to hold fresh polls in case the majority of the electorate exercised the NOTA.