If you thought none of the above (NOTA) has been given any power at all, then the following lines should make you think once more: According to former chief election commissioner S Y Quraishi, the Supreme Court in its order has just given the right to register a negative opinion. He said the new provision does not mean that all candidates in a constituency stand rejected or defeated if the number of NOTA votes exceeds the number garnered by the highest vote-getter. Even if there are 99 NOTA votes out of a total of 100, and candidate X gets just one vote, X is the winner, having obtained the only valid vote. The rest will be treated as invalid or no votes, Quraishi said in an opinion piece in The Indian Express on Thursday. He then said that NOTA may not affect election results, the option would ensure secrecy of the voter wanting to make a choice that amounts to abstention, and also to ensure that nobody casts a bogus vote in his place. A big showpiece.
Posted on: Sat, 26 Apr 2014 08:44:36 +0000