NOTA votes fall nationwide, increase in Northeast

Guwahati

The share of votes recorded as NOTA or “none of the above” in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections fell nationwide from the 2019 elections. However, a different trend was observed in Northeast India.

The Northeast, comprising eight states, has 25 seats, of which 14 are in Assam, followed by Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya and Tripura with two each, and Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim with one each.

According to the Election Commission of India, the nationwide NOTA turnout was 0.99%, 0.07% lower than the 1.06% recorded in 2019. However, in the Northeast, NOTA turnout increased from an average of 0.71% in 2019 to 0.81% in 2014.

Disgruntled Voters

“The surge in NOTA votes in the Northeast indicates that voters are not happy with their choice of candidates in a region known for politicians switching parties. It could also be an indication that voters realised the futility of choosing leaders who line their wallets instead of driving promised development and did not want their votes to go to waste,” said Pranay Bordoloi, consulting editor, NKTV.

The three constituencies in Assam where Bharatiya Janata Party candidates won had the highest number of NOTA votes. These were Dibrugarh (32,255), Kaziranga (24,431) and Darang-Udalguri (23,204).

Former Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal won the Dibrugarh seat for the second time since 2004. Kamakhya Prasad Thatha and Dilip Saikia won the Kaziranga and Darang Udalguri seats respectively. Kaliabor and Mangaldoi were transformed into Kaziranga and Darang Udalguri constituencies differently after the 2023 delimitation exercise.

Highest NOTA in Assam

NOTA recorded its highest vote share in Assam with an average of 1.19% out of 14 seats, followed by Tripura with 1.41%, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya with 0.98% each. In 2019, NOTA recorded 0.99% vote share in Assam, 1.08% in Tripura and 0.33% in Meghalaya.

Compared to five years ago, NOTA vote count has increased in Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Sikkim and Tripura, decreased in Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram, while remaining stable in Nagaland.

The states that recorded the least number of NOTA votes were Nagaland (1,646), Mizoram (1,898) and Arunachal West (2,296).