Results of Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Puducherry and Assam indicate that the “None of the Above” (NOTA) option drew limited support from voters.
Among the five states, Assam reported the highest NOTA share at 1.29%. West Bengal followed with 0.81%, Puducherry with 0.73% and Kerala with 0.58%.
Tamil Nadu recorded the lowest NOTA usage at 0.41%, with 1,99,801 voters opting not to choose any candidate.
NOTA was introduced on electronic voting machines in 2013. Election Commission statistics show a gradual decline in NOTA voting across the last three Lok Sabha elections, from 1.08% in 2014 to 0.99% in 2024.
Before 2013, voters who did not wish to vote for any candidate could submit Form 49-O to the election officer. However, since the form had to be filled at the polling booth, concerns were raised that it could compromise ballot secrecy, leading to the inclusion of a dedicated NOTA button on EVMs.
