Indore (Madhya Pradesh): In the dynamic landscape of democratic expression, the recent Assembly election has witnessed a notable transformation in the preferences of voters, particularly concerning the 'None of the above' (NOTA) option.
Contrasting the figures from 2018, where a substantial 20,817 voters opted for NOTA, the most recent polls in 2023 reveal a decline with a total of 15,105 voters choosing this alternative across all the nine Assembly seats in the district. This shift prompts an exploration into the factors influencing voter decisions and raises questions about the evolving awareness and acceptance of candidates in the eyes of the electorate.
Although Indore-2 seat sent BJP candidate Ramesh Mendola to the state Assembly with the highest victory margin in the state, this constituency leads in electors pressing the NOTA button on EVMs in Indore district.
As many as 2,142 people rejected the candidates in the fray by pressing “none of the above” button in the electronic voting machines in Indore-2 constituency.
There were a total of eight candidates in the fray, including Mendola from BJP and Chintu Chouksey from Congress. Three were independent candidates and one each from Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist), BSP and Jansangh.
None of the candidates apart from the two main arch-rivals could cross the five-digit mark. The BSP candidate stood third with 1,432 votes.
Indore-2 is followed by Sanwer where as many as 2,119 voters opted for the NOTA option. In Rau, a total of 2,104 voters chose NOTA over the candidates in the fray.
Indore-4 came next in line with 1,986 voters pressing the NOTA button followed by Mhow with 1,553 voters choosing the option of none of the above.
With 1,549 people pressing the NOTA button Indore-5 came next, while in Indore 1 the hottest seat 1,384 voters pressed the button of NOTA.
In Depalpur 1,151 voters opted not to vote for any candidate in the fray and the seat on which the least number of voters pressed the NOTA button was Indore-3 with 1,117 voters.
Constituency No of voters 2018 No of voters 2023
Indore-2 2951 2142
Sanwer 2591 2119
Rau 2475 2104
Indore-4 2098 1986
Mhow 2073 1553
Indore-5 2786 1549
Indore-1 2409 1384
Depalpur 1987 1151
Indore-3 1447 1117
Constituency 2 has maintained its distinction as the stronghold for voters opting for the 'None of the above' (NOTA) option. In the 2018 Assembly elections, this constituency recorded 2,951 NOTA votes, and despite a slight decline, it continues to lead with 2,142 NOTA votes in the 2023 elections.
