NOTA count higher than victory margin in 13 constituencies across Tamil Nadu in 2021 assembly polls

Chennai: DMK candidate J Karunanithi won T Nagar constituency by a margin of 137 votes in 2021. In this constituency, the NOTA (None of the Above) polled 1,617 votes, about 11 times more than the victory margin.

These voters said they were not happy with works done by AIADMK and DMK candidates and registered their dissent by voting for NOTA. It is not just T Nagar.

The other 12 constituencies for which the NOTA count was higher than the victory margin are Thiruporur, Tenkasi, Neyveli, Rasipuram, Modakurichi, Mettur, Mettupalayam, Krishnagiri, Kinathukadavu, Katpadi, Jolarpet and Dharapuram .

In total, NOTA polled 3,45,487 votes in 234 constituencies. Highest number of votes for NOTA were polled in Chengalpet constituency, where it got 3,075 votes.



In this election, many constituencies may throw up very close contests and NOTA votes may become more significant.

However, experts say the enthusiasm for NOTA has significantly dropped this election, compared to 2016, when it first became an option. "There was a huge excitement when NOTA was introduced in 2016. Then, NOTA polled 5,63 lakh votes and, on average, 2,397 votes in each constituency as voters expressed their dissatisfaction with the candidate options. In 2021, however, the average dropped to 1,476 votes," said professor Ramu Manivannan, former head of the department of politics and political administration, University of Madras.

"NOTA will not be a major differentiator in the upcoming elections, as it has not dominated the public discourse ahead of this election. But, NOTA will continue to draw certain segment of votes, though it likely won't have a significant impact," he added.

"NOTA gives voters an option to express their dissent," said P Joseph Victor Raj, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry coordinator, National Election Watch. "The 2016 and 2021 TN assembly election results show that without the legal power to force re-elections, NOTA remains a passive observer of the process. If NOTA receives the highest number of votes in a constituency, the election should be declared null and void. A fresh election should be conducted," he said. "Data also shows that there is a correlation between criminal cases against candidates and higher NOTA polling," he added.


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