NOTA: Will you stand in a queue to vote for no one?

Bengaluru: For the first time in national elections, voters will have the NOTA or, None of the Above button option on the electronic voting machines, thanks to a pathbreaking Supreme Court directive last year.

 

To press the NOTA button is to say that you, as a voter, do not like any of the candidates in the fray in your constituency. It’s a great way to signal to a political party that it must find a better candidate than the one it has fielded. But is it enough?

Over By2Kaapi, entrepreneurs B. Vishal and Prasad Shetty discuss whether NOTA is an effective tool in the hands of the voters to drive political parties to clean up their act, and they conclude that NOTA will not make a significant difference to the prevailing calculus of candidate selection – caste, money and muscle power, etc.   

“The number of NOTA votes cast should exceed the votes secured by any candidate in the fray. Is that ever possible?” asks Prasad.

 

“There isn’t even enough awareness about NOTA. How many actually know about it and what it means? And especially in rural areas, where votes are primarily cast on the basis of caste, sometimes even just to a familiar symbol, is it ever possible to get the highest number of votes in favour of none? Come on, think as a voter. Why would I stand in a long queue just to cast my vote for no one? Isn’t it a waste of time?”

Vishal, though, is more optimistic about NOTA. “Sure, that’s a majority of the voters we are talking about. Having said that, what about the urban voter? There’s a rise in the number of young and first-time voters in this election. They can turn the tables. It’s good to have options like NOTA, although unfortunately it does not have teeth”.

“There are certain pockets that are primarily driven by caste,” Prasad counters. “For instance, the Mandya belt. You think it’s ever possible for NOTA to cancel out the Vokkaliga votes? In most constituencies, voters will not even contemplate anyone other than a Congress or a BJP candidate. As voters, we are not programmed to think beyond Congress or BJP.”

In the last LS elections, Congress fielded Krishna Byregowda against BJP’s Ananth Kumar in Bangalore South, Prasad points out. “Krishna is a worthy candidate better educated, young and capable. Why wasn’t he elected? Why wasn’t he given a chance? Ananth Kumar takes the entire Brahmin vote and that’s what has helped him win five times in a row.

 

Considering that Bangalore South has the most number of educated voters, NOTA should make a significant difference here if voters think the candidates are not capable. But while the Brahmin vote might be divided this time, it’s still not possible for NOTA to make an impact at all”.
So, is there no hope that NOTA will force political parties to field worthy candidates? 

“NOTA is a welcome option. It provides the voter some relief from having to vote for candidates he doesn’t like.

But, let’s say, I do not choose candidate A, B or C. Beyond that, the question remains: Who else, then?” says Prasad. “And even if NOTA wins and a re-election has to be held, what if the parties field the same candidates again? It will be a waste of time and money. NOTA could create confuse the voter”.