Voters in Araku ST constituency in Andhra Pradesh, who polled the highest NOTA votes – 50,470 - in the two Telugu states, almost reached the 2019 highest NOTA votes record set in Gopalganj in Bihar, which saw an astounding 51,660 voters exercise this option.
However, the NOTA count in Araku paled in comparison to the 2,18,674 voters using the option in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.
Incidentally, the NOTA votes in Araku was marginally higher than the majority of 50,580 votes registered by YSRCP candidate Gumma Thanuja Rani over her nearest TDP rival Kothapalli Geetha.
In Telangana, it was Malkajgiri which saw the highest NOTA count at 13,366, followed by Adilabad with 11,762 voters indicating that they were not willing to vote for anyone in the fray. The least number of NOTA votes were polled in Hyderabad where the AIMIM won an emphatic victory.
Interestingly, in Telangana, the total NOTA votes in the eight seats that the BJP won stood at 55,585, while in the eight seats the Congress won, the number stood at 45,753 votes.
In Andhra Pradesh, in the 15 Lok Sabha seats which the Telugu Desam Party won, the total NOTA votes polled were 2,09,328, while in the four seats won by YSRCP, it stood at 1,53,181. In the three seats the BJP won from, the NOTA option was exercised 58,347 times, and the two seats that the Jana Sena won, this tally stood at 29,346 votes.
Infograph
Telangana NOTA count
Hyderabad – 2,906
Adilabad – 11,762
Karimnagar – 5,438
Nizamabad – 4,483
Medak – 4,617
Malkajgiri – 13,366
Secunderabad – 5,166
Chevella – 6,423
Mahbubnagar – 4,330
Peddapalli – 5,711
Zaheerabad – 2,977
Nagarkurnool – 4,580
Nalgonda – 6,086
Bhongir – 4,646
Warangal – 8,380
Mahabubabad – 6,591
Khammam – 6,782
Andhra Pradesh NOTA count
Srikakulam – 24,605
Vizianagaram – 23,250
Visakhapatnam – 5,313
Amalapuram – 13,518
Eluru – 22,515
Vijayawada – 9,193
Guntur – 7,387
Narasaraopet – 11,199
Bapatla – 13,723
Ongole – 13,205
Nandyal – 10,697
Anantapur – 17,971
Hindupur – 17,971
Nellore – 15,577
Chittoor – 11,976
Araku – 50,470
Kadapa – 16,846
Tirupati – 16,118
Rajampet – 11,400
Anakapalli – 26,235
Rajahmundry – 24,435
Naraspuram – 7,677
Kakinada – 17,220
Machilipatnam – 12,126