Don't waste your vote

Chennai: Nearly a month before elections, activists of a rights group went to a college in urban Tamil Nadu as part of a programme to encourage voting among youngsters. But, the group was stunned to discover that a significant number of students had already decided to choose the “None of the Above” (Nota) option.

It was more like a fashion statement from the youth that they would choose only the Nota option, without even looking at the candidates’ list and analysing their background. Majority of them were unaware they were indeed wasting their precious vote since Nota has no electoral value.

This incident speaks volumes about the need to create larger awareness about Nota’s  “negativity” especially among youngsters. Though the number of Nota votes has seen a marginal decline from 5.74 lakh in 2014 Lok Sabha polls to 5.60 lakh in the just-concluded Assembly elections, people who are disillusioned with the political class fail themselves and   democracy when they opt for the option without even giving the independents and others a chance, election experts said.

“When a person goes to polling station, he expresses his anger against those who have not given him basic facilities by opting for Nota. But, it does not serve any purpose. In every constituency, we have at least 15-20 candidates and those opting for Nota can choose someone from the independents’ if they don’t want to vote for a political candidate,” former Chief Electoral Officer Naresh Gupta told Deccan Chronicle.

Echoing Gupta’s views, Siva Elango of Satta Panchayat Iyakkam says youth should give their mind enough time to choose the best among the 15 or 20-odd candidates contesting from their seat. “There are so many social activists who contest elections with the hope of getting a few thousand votes just to get an encouragement from people for the tremendous social work they do. But they end up getting just a few hundred votes,” he said.

The phenomenon of opting for Nota is more prevalent in urban areas than in rural areas, a fact that has been reinforced by the data released by Election Commission after the May 16 Assembly elections.

Election experts feel many voters who opted for Nota were under the  misconception that Nota amounted to negative voting and stressed the need to create awareness about the issue.

Listen to a social activist who jumped in the electoral fray with the hope of grabbing a few thousand votes after resigning his job. “I was cent per cent sure I would not win the elections when I decided to contest. I thought my service to  people would get me at least 2,000 votes, but what I got was just 250 votes. I feel dejected by this result and I am thinking of going back to working in a company rather than working for the people,” the candidate, who wished anonymity, said.

Elango says society should recognise such people who work for them and even if some of Nota votes had gone to this particular candidate, he could have stayed in public life.

However,  S. Rajanayagam of People’s Studies says it is not just the youth who opt for Nota but also middle-aged people. “There was an opinion earlier that there would be some negative impact if Nota is used. But when people realised that it is of no use, they are disillusioned. With no power attached to Nota, people are disappointed with that option as well,” he says.